By Amelia Kibbe
Editor-in-Chief
The St. Bonaventure women’s cross country team continued to work together Saturday, placing fourth out of 20 teams at the Harry Anderson Invitational in Rochester, said Head Coach Bob MacFarlane.
Senior Aubrie Russell led the team, placing eighth overall in 18:53—a personal record for the team co-captain.
“I think that everyone is just ecstatic right now,” Russell said. “It was a great day for the girls. I mean, having three girls at or under 19 [minutes]—that’s where we needed to be. I am really proud of everyone. I think everyone went out with a positive mindset.”
Last week in an interview with The Bona Venture, Russell said one of her season goals was to break 19 minutes, which she did Saturday.
“Personally, for me, I was also super ecstatic. I am now looking to break 18:50,” she said. “You’re always looking to break the next goal, you know. You get happy and then you move forward.”
Freshmen Emily Izydorczak and Rachel Guyer finished second and third for the Bonnies, crossing the line in 18:59 and 19:00, respectively.
Guyer said the combination of a fast course and a hard week of practice helped the whole team.
“It was a really flat course, and everyone went out really fast,” Guyer said. “It really helped having a pack of us together…we were able to stick together and pass girls as a group. It’s nice to have a team to push you to your whole potential.”
Sophomore Hailey Gattuso and freshman Lindsay Weaver rounded out the top five for the Bonnies, finishing in 19:27 and 19:54, respectively.
The home team from Roberts Wesleyan won the meet overall, followed by Fredonia and Daemen.
The Bonnies will next compete at the Paul Short Invitational in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Friday. Instead of the typical 5-kilometer course, the girls will run 6 kilometers.
MacFarlane said the way the women ran in Rochester has him excited to see what they can do in upcoming meets.
“They had a good day, good course, fast course and good competition,” MacFarlane said. “So they were able to push themselves through. I give the two freshmen [Guyer and Izydorczak] a lot of credit and Aubrie [Russell] leading them through because those three packed with each other. Another one I give a lot of credit to is Hailey [Gattuso], who’s running hurt, but she did very, very well. Our freshmen and sophomores are doing great. I can’t comment enough on how hard they’re working through things.”
Men’s XC places seventh in Rochester
A flat and fast course made for a good showing for the St. Bonaventure men’s cross country team at the Harry Anderson Invitational in Rochester Saturday, said Head Coach Bob MacFarlane.
The men placed seventh out of 24 teams at the course at Roberts Wesleyan College, with redshirt sophomore Ben Collins leading the team.
Collins placed 29th out of more than 230 runners, finishing the 8-kilometer course in 26:44.
“If you asked almost any of the guys, I think everyone improved,” Collins said. “We had a really hard week [of practice] last week, so it’s really nice to see because usually, it will take a couple weeks for a hard workout to set in. We haven’t really cut back yet, so it’s really nice to see this early in the season. Almost every guy improved, and that’s great.”
Collins, a co-captain, added he expects even more from the team Friday.
“We go to Paul Short next,” he said. “It’s a very fast course. There is no reason why all of these guys can’t PR [person record] there, especially with the day we just had.”
Following Collins was freshman Caleb Johnson, who placed 41st in 26:53, and senior Joe Ferencik, 46th in 27:06.
Rounding out the top five for the Bonnies were senior co-captain Nick Konotopskyj and senior Caleb Lecker, who crossed the line in 27:37 (64th) and 28:05 (85th), respectively.
Cornell University took home the team title, followed by Roberts Wesleyan, Fredonia, Oswego, Penn State Behrend and Mercyhurst University ahead of the Bonnies.
The men are back in action Friday at the Paul Short Invitational in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
“I was happy with the guys who stepped up,” said MacFarlane. “The boys looked very good… I think that today overall, both the men’s team and the women’s team showed that we are moving along in the right direction. Ben Collins and Caleb Johnson, those two have really stepped up their game…those two young kids are really showing that they belong in this division.”
