Both men's and women's cross-country teams were left disappointed after Saturday's Mid-American Conference championship race at Beaver Island State Park in Grand Island, N.Y. The men finished seventh out of the nine competing schools and the women placed eleventh out of twelve.
The terrible conditions at Beaver Island State Park adversely affected the runners. As heavy rain fell from early Friday evening through Saturday morning, the Grand Island course was wrought with mud and standing water.
"I thought the course ran well today," said Buffalo head coach Vicki Mitchell. "It was a very challenging course with the conditions. It definitely evened out the playing field for a lot of schools but everyone competed tough."
The day boasted 20-30 mile per hour winds and temperatures in the low 40s, making the runners mud-covered and visibly cold during Saturday's events.
"The course was a mess," said sophomore runner Mary Veith. "It was really slow and it was tough."
Although delivering a dismal showing at the conference championships, the women's cross-country team has endured many setbacks throughout the season.
"Overall it's been a very difficult season," Mitchell said. "We have had a lot of injuries and a lot of sicknesses, but the team went out there today and ran it's toughest."
Despite the poor results achieved by the teams, there were outstanding performances by individual runners. Sophomore Mary Veith continued an excellent year with a second-place finish overall in a time of 20:37.65, and senior Dan McKenna just missed the second team All-MAC with his 19th-place finish.
"Mary Veith was definitely the bright spot," Mitchell said. "The entire season she has performed fantastic and with great consistency. To place second as a sophomore in the conference championships is a great accomplishment so I am very proud of what she has achieved in the last year."
Veith, through her second-place finish overall, was named to the first team All-MAC. The first through seventh-place finishers were named to first team, while eighth through 14th place finishers were named to second team.
"I just had to stay positive," Veith said. "I had to stay with the group I was in, the leading group, and after the two mile mark I just tried to push a little more and tried to hold it the best I could. I guess it worked out for the best."
Finishers behind Veith for the women include senior Kate Kohout in a time of 22:00.85 for 47th place finish out of 101 competitors, and senior Karen Corey's time of 22:20.50 placed her 62nd overall.
On the men's side senior Andy Leonard, who completed the race in 28:49.30, notched a 24th-place finish, and Dan Giza recorded a 38th-place finish in a time of 29:34.15.
Ohio won the women's team championship with its record setting ninth women's team title. On the men's side it was Eastern Michigan.
The top three finishers were all wearing the green and white of Eastern Michigan, and five of the top ten were also from the Eagles, which secured their 12th team title.
Ohio's Carime Reinhart won the women's individual title with her 20:02.90 run. Corey Nowitzke from Eastern Michigan won the men's individual title as he completed the course in 26:52.60.
Eastern Michigan's John Goodridge was named Men's MAC Coach of the Year, while Clay Calkins from Ohio was named Women's Coach of the Year.
With the culmination of their season quickly approaching, the Bulls have two possible races left. First up is the NCAA Northeast Regional Meet in the Bronx on Nov. 11, followed either by Nationals or the ECAC/IC4A Championships.
