Bison cross country proves talent against top competition
September 14, 2017
Following their success at the Bison Open last weekend, the Bison men’s cross country team had another strong performance at the Spiked Shoe Invitational at Penn State in University Park, Pa. on Sept. 8. Fifty-seven runners from Syracuse, Penn State, Georgetown, and Edinboro all raced against the Bison.
Will Bordash ’18 was the top finisher for the Bison, placing 12th overall. He ran the 5.2 miles with a finishing time of 26:31.
“Individually, I was happy with my race. This was one of my best races this early in the season during my career so I was happy with that. Our top group of guys performed well,” Bordash said.
A senior captain, Bordash was also pleased with the team’s overall effort. The Bison had four runners in the top 25 spots. Drew Dorflinger ’20, Michael Bortolot ’21, and Chad Sussman ’19 finished 16th, 22nd, and 25th, respectively.
“As a team I thought we did well,” Bordash said. “Now we are really getting into the serious meets. We are really starting to focus in on our workouts, mindset, and routine. Overall, everyone is pretty happy where they are at, and now it’s time to grow on that.”
The Bison women’s cross country team also had a strong outing at the Spiked Shoe Invitational. Eighty-five runners from Penn State, Georgetown, Syracuse, Pitt, West Virginia, and Edinboro participated in the race along with the Orange and Blue.
The Bison’s Christine Bendzinski ’18 ran a time of 21:34 to take home seventh place. She edged out the eighth place finisher by less than one second.
Two other runners for the Orange and Blue placed in the top 20. Jenna Farmer ’19 finished 17th in the race with a time of 21:56. Colleen Buckley ’19 finished 20th with a time of 22:05. With these finishes, the Bison women proved themselves against nationally-ranked caliber teams. Bendzinski also earned herself Patriot League Female Runner of the Week honors for her top-ten finish.
Both the men’s and women’s cross country teams will have more than a week off before traveling to Earlysville, Va. on Sept. 23 to compete at the Panorama Farms Invitational.
