Crossing the Finish Line

On Saturday, the cross-country team traveled to Penn State's Blue and White Golf Courses to participate in one of the largest tournaments of the year.

Not only was the tournament one of the largest, it also had some of the best competition in the country, making for a tough weekend for every squad.

The lineup included the defending NCAA Champion Villanova, a team that ran four All-Americans from last year on Saturday. The field also included 15 of the top NCAA finishers from last season. The men and women's squad both fared well against the country's top competition, as both squads finished in the middle of the pack.

Buffalo's men grabbed 503 points in a 27-team race on the 5.2 mile course, which was good enough to place them 18th overall. The men's race also fielded a total of 266 runners.

The women's team also put up a good fight against the top teams, placing 20th in a 31-team field with 592 points.

Bulls junior Dylan Conway held a great pace during the entire event, which allowed him to finish in a very respectable 86th place with a time of 26:51.

The Bulls next four men's finishers stuck together through the whole race, finishing within just seven seconds of each other. Senior Jacob Hagen finished second for the Bulls as he clocked in at 27:10, putting him in 122nd place.

Rounding out Buffalo's top five was graduate Mike Gillis (124th place), freshman Zach Ahart (128th place), and senior Ryan Bloom (132nd place).

The women's race held 304 runners and took place in a 6k format.

Buffalo's top finisher was sophomore Katie Sanders, who placed 87th in 22:28. Sophomore Emma Denton was the second Bull to cross the finish line, shortly after Sanders, in 22:59, which put her in 131st place.

The rest of the top five finishers for the Bulls were sophomore Sam Beim, who finished in 142nd, and seniors Christine Sprehe and Brittany Chilson, who grabbed 162nd and 166th respectively.

For their next match-up, the Bulls travel to Cornell on Friday for the Reif Invitational.