Competing against the best runners in the region, the men's and women's cross country teams each finished in 18th place at the NCAA Northeast Regional meet.
Held at Franklin Park in Boston, MA, the meet gave teams and individual athletes from the northeast region an opportunity to earn a bid into the NCAA Cross Country Championships.
The top two teams in the men's and women's competition at the NCAA Northeast Regional earn automatic berths to the NCAA Championship held in Terre Haute, IN, on Nov. 19. The Bulls were unable to secure a national berth.
In only their third 6K course of the season, the women's squad scored 565 points as they took 18th place in a field of 36 teams. Junior Mary Veith led the Bulls finishing 38th out of 254 runners with a time of 21:46.25.
Joining Veith at the head of the Buffalo runners was sophomore Nicole Soblosky in 62nd place, who turned in her best 6K race time of the season at 21:13.55. Soblosky shaved 24 seconds off her previous best time from the Lehigh Invitational earlier this season.
Adding to the score for the Bulls were junior Jessica Schultz who finished in 134th place with a time of 23:19.15, freshman Megan Niblock who placed 165th in 23:47.55, and senior Amy Trumpfheller who finished 180th in 24:11.25. The times for Niblock and Trumpfheller were both season bests.
Senior Susan Beatty and freshman Brittany Chilson also competed for the Bulls, but only the top five finishers per team count toward the team total point score. Beatty finished in 205th place in 24:45.45 and Chilson 210th in 24:52.30.
The women's team title went to Providence, who placed four individuals in the top 20 overall, with 73 points. Stony Brook was second with 118 points and Boston College in third with 132 points. The individual title also went to Providence as Danielle Doetzel took 1st place in 20:28.00.
The Buffalo men raced on their longest course of the season as they scored 550 points on the way to an 18th place finish out of 34 teams.
Senior Dan Giza finished the 10K race first for the Bulls. Giza came in 79th of 230 runners with a time of 31:40.55.
Several of the remaining scorers for Buffalo stayed close to each other as only 10 seconds and eight places separated the second and fourth place finishers for the Bulls. Freshman Ryan Bloom finished in 112th place in 32:15.35, sophomore Jason Ayr in 116th in 32:21.70 and sophomore Scott Dickover in 120th in 32:25.30. Rounding out the Buffalo scorers was junior Dan Healy who placed 136th in a time of 32:42.35.
Additional racers for the men's squad included senior Jesse Mang who finished 152nd with a time of 33:02.00, and freshman Jacob Hagen who placed 162nd in 33:11.65.
The men's team title went to Iona as they tallied 37 points, with three top five finishers. Providence came in second with 46 points, and Syracuse in third with 132 points. Max Smith from Providence pushed ahead of teammate Hayden McLaren to win the individual tile in 29:58.75. McLaren took the second place honor in 30:00.95.
While the Bulls runners did not receive a bid into the NCAA Championships, both squads will compete in their final meet of the season at the IC4A & ECAC Regional Meet on Nov. 17 in New York, NY.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
