Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Bison Open
Cross Country Teams Run Well at Bison Opener
8/30/2014 12:22:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Junior Andrew Kuchta posted his first career victory in the men's race, and senior Katie Jessee was runner-up on the women's side as the Bucknell cross country teams opened up the 2014 season at the Bison Opener on Saturday morning at the West Fields.
Head coach Kevin Donner has taken a bit of a different tact this preseason, backing off on many of his top runners to preserve their health for later in the year, while focusing now on developing depth. The Bison got off to a good start in their first competitive race on Saturday against Saint Francis (Pa.), Susquehanna and Juniata. The men's occupied 10 of the top 11 places, while the women accounted for eight of the top 11.
"I was pleased with how we ran today," said Donner. "We are trying to be careful because in the last few years we haven't gotten to the end of the year at full strength. We are being more conservative with our top runners. So far we have just been running a lot of miles, so this was the first time I've seen them run competitively. It was a good rust-buster for us."
The men kicked off the day with a dominant performance. Kuchta clocked a time of 14:44 on the three-mile course for a six-second win over Alex Price from Susquehanna. Then it was a sea of Orange & Blue, as the next nine finishers were Bucknell runners.
Glen Williams finished third in 14:59, followed by Louis Tobias, Will Bordash, John Westwood, Ross Pirnie, Luke Giugliano, John Kirna, Zach Williams and Andrew Kirna.
"For the men, it was great to see Andrew Kuchta win his first career race," said Donner. "He has really taken his running to another level. The guys who were our frontrunners today are the guys we are going to need to step up and give us depth this year. After one meet it looks like they have the ability to do so. Our freshmen did well today at three miles, and now we will have to see how they adjust to five miles later in the year."
Kylie Jackson of Saint Francis won the women's race in 16:56, followed by Jessee of Bucknell in 17:05. Freshman Brennan Sharkey took third, followed by Sarah Chandler and Justine Schnell. Another first-year runner, Maeve Greeley, placed seventh, and Zoe Gaston, Becky Snelson and Meghan Carroll finished 9-11.
"Katie and Brennan ran two of the fastest times that we have seen on this course," said Donner. "We are looking for some women who have the ability to be frontrunners, and those two showed today that they can do so. Katie was injured all of last spring, but she is back in great shape and ran a strong race today."
The Bison will be back in action next Saturday at the Detroit Mercy Invitational in Northville, Mich.
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Players Mentioned
