Sophomore runners set pace for UB at invitational

Sophomore Michelle Quinn shattered her personal best time of the season Friday, finishing first out of four UB women runners who competed in the Cornell Reif Memorial Run.

The women ran the 5K event while no UB runners took part in the men's 8K. Saturday's contest was an invitational, and did not involve team scoring. The meet was held at the Moakley Course at Cornell University.

Quinn was the top finisher of the four women, coming in 24th out of 39 runners. Quinn's time on the course was 22:23.5, improving on her previous best by more than 45 seconds.

Finishing right behind Quinn was UB sophomore Amy Trumpfheller in 25th place with a time of 22:33.8. The other two UB women included sophomore Susan Beatty who finished 30th place in 23:08:5 and senior Jen Redino in 32nd place in 23:37:8.

Cornell runners nabbed the top 10 spots in the women's race, with Ruth Morgan winning with a time of 19:31:6. Her teammate Carrie Richards followed closely behind for second place in 19:16, and third was Alicia Korol, who scored a time of 19:43. Runners from Temple, Syracuse and Ithaca also competed in Friday's events.

Overall the Cornell team thoroughly dominated the run, as the Big Red women claimed the top 17 of 19 spots, while the men took eight of the top 10.

Some of the teams that have competed in the past Reif Runs decided not to make the trip this year, including Syracuse, Houghton College and Keystone College.

Cornell's Moakley Course typically features a descent into a gorge. Since the weather conditions were overcast and rainy, that portion of the race was removed because of dangerous conditions, leaving the competing athletes with a relatively flat and easy run.

So while the UB runners didn't receive any top spots, they may have gained some valuable experience that will help them prevail in future meets.

The entire cross-country team will be competing next weekend at the Mid-American Conference Championships in Dekalb, Ill. The championships will take place at Northern Illinois University with races starting Saturday at noon.