Senior Jenny Koeppel, a four time 2004 MAC Runner of the Week, added another accomplishment to her already stellar season Saturday.
Koeppel, UB's best runner this season, clocked in at 17:51.70 to lead all 107 women's runners in the Mid-American Conference championships in Toledo, Ohio. Following her first place finish, Koeppel was the recipient of first team All-MAC honors.
"I don't know if it sank in yet," said Koeppel. "It's amazing. it's something that I worked four years for and to finally have it happen, you can't explain how it feels."
For the first mile, Koeppel ran with the pack, but after that, she separated and left the other runners in her wake, except for one.
"I separated from the pack with another runner, Jill Scully from Ball State," she said. "After another mile the two of us kind of bailed out and we went off on our own. I put in a surge and started gaining a lead."
It was a tight race for Koeppel almost the entire way, because of Scully's proximity and Scully's ability. She is a top runner from a top program; Ball State missed first place by only two points. Koeppel beating out Scully most likely secured the team victory for Kent State.
Koeppel didn't feel her victory was secure at any point in the race. She simply kept her focus and continued her run towards the finish.
"The whole race I was kind of in the hot seat, I didn't know how close she was behind me until the end," she said.
The Buffalo women as a team finished fourth out of 13 teams in the 5K event. The fourth place finish is a best for the Bulls since joining the MAC.
"To be fourth place after ninth place last year, I'm just extremely proud of what they've done, it's just a tribute to their hard work that they've put in throughout the season," said Bulls' head coach Vicki Mitchell.
The race, which was run on Toledo's Ottawa Park Golf Course, was slower on Saturday than in previous races due to the recent inclement weather. Many of UB's women runners set season personal records on the same course in the beginning of September at the Central Collegiate Invite.
"There were mini ponds on the golf course filled with water. It was a wet and muddy course so all the teams that ran back in September ran slower today," said Mitchell. "The conditions were 30-plus miles-an-hour winds on the course."
Also finishing strong for the Bulls was Kelli O'Brien. Her 12th place finish was good enough for All-MAC second team. O'Brien clocked in at 18:42.20.
Aleksandra Bykowska was third for UB with a time of 19:01.30, good for 22nd place overall. Being just a freshman, Bykowska has made huge strides this season and her season best time turned in over the weekend leads Coach Mitchell to believe that her best days are ahead of her.
"Aleksandra ran a terrific race today, probably one of her best races of the year today which was certainly a good time too. She's been consistent from the beginning if you look at our results within our top four and she's a hard worker, a very talented runner," said Mitchell. "She's brought a lot to our team and really up to be a significant factor in the improvement of our team's overall performance."
The men finished seventh overall, an improvement of three places from last year. However, Mitchell suggested there was room for improvement on the men's side.
"There's always room to improve on any race we do," said Mitchell. "Yes the men were in tenth place last year so moving up to seventh place is a good improvement. But there was a lot of room for improvement today and we left those things out on the course, and hopefully we will get some things corrected before we go out to the regional meet."
Dan McKenna was the top Buffalo finisher at 26th overall in the 8K with a time of 26:17.20. The rest of the UB runners finished close in the pack with Ben Cady, Steve Strelick and Andy Wigton finishing 38th, 44th and 49th respectively. Central Michigan's Tristen Perlberg finished first in a time of 24:42 to win the event on the men's side.
Another freshman that ran well for Buffalo is Chuck Laderer. He finished right behind the UB veterans in 51st place.
"Chuck ran a gutsy performance today. He's had some Achilles problems and his training has been hit or miss over the last four weeks. It would be an understatement to say he left everything out on the course," said Mitchell. "I had never really seen him with that intensity to perform. He must have an incredibly high pain threshold, that's all I can say about him."
On Saturday, Nov. 13 UB's top seven runners from both the men's team and the women's team will travel to New York City to run in the Northeast Regional. The event is a 10K for the men and a 6K for the women. The women have run just twice this season at that distance while the men will be running the 6.2-mile distance for the first time this season.
"There were a couple of teams from the Northeast Region at the Penn State Invite but only a handful of them. It's a big, competitive region that we're in with several teams that will have qualified for NCAAs. The Lehigh meet and Penn State were preparations for the East regional," said Mitchell.
As for Koeppel, her goal will be to make it in the top ten, but nothing is for certain. She has been UB's top women's finisher in every race this year and she has not wavered yet.
"It's hard to say. Individually she has not qualified for NCAA's," said Mitchell. "Last year I think she was 21st in the meet. She knows that she has to improve upon that performance and I do too. Certainly a top ten performance is possible but I'd hate to have that pressure put on Jenny."
