The future looks bright for the UB men's and women's cross country teams. Each made a respectable showing at the seventh annual Central Collegiate Track meet Saturday in Toledo.
Both Bulls squads are continuing to prove themselves as top teams in the Mid-American Conference. The men's squad finished fifth out of seven schools and the women's squad finished second out of nine schools at the Central Collegiate meet at Ottawa Park Golf Course in Toledo, Ohio.
Toledo, the host school, finished first at the 5K event on the women's side as Toledo runner senior Ebba Stenback finished the race in 17:51. Toledo placed five runners in the top 12 en route to victory. Bulls runner Jen Jezorski, placed third overall finishing the race in 18:25, behind second-place runner Carime Reinhart of Ohio who finished at 17:57.
"Jen (Jezorski) just did what she normally does," said Vicky Mitchell, women's head coach.
The women's team, after winning this event last year, posted another strong showing. They can attribute their success to enduring performances down the stretch. Strong finishes by a number of key runners were a large factor, in some cases crucial, in the Bulls' second-place finish.
"The last 800 meters were strong," Mitchell said. "We edged out several universities in the last 400 meters."
Behind Jezorski for the Bulls were underclassmen Alexsandra Bykowska in fifth place and freshman Mary Veith in 12th place with times of 18:35 and 18:52, respectively. The women's squad has a lot to look forward to with freshmen running strong this season.
The UB men had a couple of freshman with strong finishes as well. The strong performance by first-, second- and third-year runners is a sign of good things to come for both squads.
UB junior Dan McKenna continues to shine and this illumination excites Mitchell.
"Dan is ready to run with the best competition in the (Mid-American Conference)," Mitchell said. "We're really excited about his future."
McKenna placed first at last week's opening meet, earning him buffalobulls.com Male Athlete of the Week honors. He finished second in the 8K event at 25:06 behind Oakland University's Adam Frezza, who won with a time of 24:58. Other top finishers on the men's side were senior Andy Leonard in 13th and sophomore Dan Giza in 19th place, with times of 25:55 and 26:18, respectively.
Leonard has definitely caught the attention of his coach with consecutive strong performances to start the season this year.
"Senior Andy Leonard is running a solid minute below his time last year, showing the work he has put in during the off-season," Mitchell said.
Toledo won the women's tournament overall, earning 30 points. UB was second with 68. Oakland (72), Western Michigan (87), Ohio (123), Northern Illinois (132), Illinois-Chicago (198), Cleveland State (242) and Defiance (278) rounded out the women's event.
On the men's side, Ohio finished first with a point total of 38, rounded out by Oakland (62) in second with Akron (69), Illinois-Chicago (74), UB (89), Toledo (184) and Defiance (222) behind them.
With top schools like Toledo on the women's side and the up-and-coming Ohio on the men's side, the Bulls will need gritty performances from their young runners to allow them to compete with other MAC schools.
The Bulls hope to have another strong showing next weekend at the Penn State Spiked Shoe Invitational on Saturday.
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
