At the Patriot League Championships on Oct. 29, the men’s cross country team took fifth, with five runners finishing in the top 30. Among the Bison’s top five runners, Will Bordash ’18 cracked top 10 in the race. The Orange and Blue missed out on second place by a mere eight points, falling to Navy, Army West Point, Boston University, and Lehigh.

Bordash earned Second Team All-Patriot League honors with his impressive 10th place finish. Luke Giugliano ’17 tallied a 15th place finish, missing an All-Patriot League ranking by just one spot. At their first league championship meet, Drew Dorflinger ’20 and Jacob Stupak ’20 performed notably well, taking 18th and 19th, respectively. Chad Sussman ’19 trailed behind, nabbing 28th.

“The best part of the meet was the support we received from coaches, teammates, alumni, and family,” Stupak said. “This was my first time running in the Championship meet, and I was shocked by the amount of Bucknell cheers and support my teammates and I received while we were racing, as it droned out the fans of other teams and was a great motivator,” Stupak said.

The next four Bison to finish placed top 50 out of 106 runners. Zach Williams ’18, Ben Siciliano ’20, Louis Tobias ’17, and Ross Pirnie ’17 nabbed 32nd, 38th, 39th, and 48th, respectively.

“In situations like this, it is easy to get carried away during practice leading up to the meet and train too hard, and it is best to try and stay relaxed and know that the training we have done over the past five months will pay off,” Stupak said.

The Bison look for redemption at the upcoming NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships at Penn State on Nov. 11.

“My favorite part of the season has been competing with my new teammates in practice and in races and just having fun with them. This team is truly amazing and has been very welcoming to the freshman class, making the college transition easy,” Stupak said.