Cross country runs victorious at UB Open

Running through the brisk air over the swampy ground of Beaver Island State Park can be nice this time of year. It can be nicer when you're winning a race.

Both the men's and women's cross country teams claimed first place at the UB Open in Grand Island on Saturday.

The men's cross country team scored 19 points to claim the top spot. The Bulls placed five of the top seven runners and were well ahead of the rest of the competition.

Robert Morris finished second with 68 points. Syracuse took third with 80, followed by Niagara with 81. The rest of the field saw scores of 126 for Tri-State University, 174 for Erie Community College, 215 for Alfred State and 224 for Finger Lakes Community College.

Junior Dan McKenna dominated the men's field once again, finishing more than 20 seconds ahead of Robert Morris's Mike Booth. McKenna completed the 8K course in 25:59 for his second win of the season.

The remaining scoring Bulls were senior Andy Leonard in fourth place with 26:50.2, sophomore Dan Giza in fifth with 27:07.1, junior Paul Riley in sixth with 27:07.6 and senior Matt Moynihan taking seventh with a 27:24.3 finish.

The women's team amassed 16 points to earn first place and saw the team place six of the top eight runners for the easy win. The Bulls were followed by Niagara in second with 52 points, Syracuse in third with 64, Finger Lakes Community College with 116 and D'Youville rounding it out with 145 points.

Senior Jen Jezorski finished first overall in the women's 5K race with a time of 19:03. It was Jezorski's first win of the season.

Jezorski was followed by three of her teammates with second place going to freshman Mary Veith with a 19:23 completion, freshman Jessica O'Neill finishing in 19:43 and sophomore Aleksandra Bykowska in 19:47. UB's other scorer was Katie Kohout, who took sixth with a 19:52.

Next weekend, the UB runners will be at two events. One squad will compete at the Penn State National Open in University Park, Penn. at 10 a.m. while the remaining runners will travel to Rochester to partake in Harry F. Anderson Invitational hosted by Roberts Wesleyan College at a time to be announced.