Men's Cross Country Hosts Bison Open on Friday

Friday, August 31

Lewisburg, Pa.

6 p.m.

Bucknell University

Bison Open

8/29/2018 11:12:00 PM | Men's Cross Country

The Race Will Feature 10 Teams

Setting the Scene
What: Bison Open
When: Friday, Aug. 31 – 6 p.m.
Where: Bucknell University Cross Country Course (Lewisburg, Pa.)
Teams: American, Bucknell, Cornell, Juniata, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola, Lycoming, Penn, Susquehanna

About the Bison
• Bucknell opens the season on its home course, which will be the site of this year's Patriot League Championships. With it being the first meet and the temperatures expected to be high, this race will be a 6k run. The meet will be unscored.
• The Bison lost their lone All-Patriot League runner to graduation, but return most of their postseason lineup, including Drew Dorflinger, Connor McMenamin, Jacob Stupak, Ben Siciliano, Chad Sussman, Brian Dengler, Benjamin Littman, Evan Minor, and Brendan McGill.
• Dorflinger is the team's top returning finisher at the league meet. He took 17^th, while McMenamin was just a few sports behind in 20^th.
• Bucknell took the top five spots and eight of the top 10 at last year's Bison Open. Sussman was third, McGill took fifth, and Minor and Littman came in ninth and 10^th, respectively.
• The Bison have had the individual winner at their season-opening home meet in each of the past 10 years in which it was held.

Opponents' Finish in Their Respective Conferences Last Season
• American (4th of 10, Patriot League)
• Cornell (4^th of 8, Ivy League)
• Juniata (2nd of 6, Landmark Conference)
• Lafayette (8th of 10, Patriot League)
• Lehigh (6th of 10, Patriot League)
• Loyola (10th of 10, Patriot League)
• Lycoming (16th of 17, Middle Atlantic Conference)
• Penn (3rd of 8, Ivy League)
• Susquehanna (6th of 6, Landmark Conference)

Up Next
• The Bison will run at the Detroit Mercy Invite on Saturday, Sept. 8.

BISON MEN HAVE HIGH HOPES FOR 2018 CROSS COUNTRY SEASON

Consistency will be the key for the Bucknell men's cross country team this season. The Bison have shown their potential with success at the regional meet in recent years but have struggled in the league meet. Head coach Kevin Donner hopes a strong contingent of returning runners will help change that trend.

"The last two years I thought we had pretty good teams that underperformed at the Patriot League meet but ran great at the NCAA Regional," Donner said. "We've been sixth and eighth at the regional meet the last two years, which are two of the better years we've had in a long time. But we were fifth both years in the Patriot League and not too far off from second or third. We do have a lot to prove.

"If healthy we have three of the better runners in the Patriot League, and that's a pretty good start," Donner continued. "But injury and sickness have been the curse of our men's team the last two years. If healthy we could be a top two or three team and maybe even contend."

The top three runners that Donner spoke of are juniors Drew Dorflinger and Jacob Stupak and sophomore Connor McMenamin. Dorflinger has just missed All-Patriot League status with top-20 finishes in each of his first two seasons. Stupak was solid two seasons ago, finishing 19^th at the league meet and 44^th at the regional meet.

McMenamin returns as the top runner from a strong freshman class last season. He finished 20^th at the Patriot League Cross Country Championships and then earned All-Patriot League recognition with a runner-up finish in the steeplechase at the Outdoor Championships.

After those three the Bison will turn to guys like Chad Sussman, Evan Minor, Ben Siciliano, and Brian Dengler. Minor had a successful outdoor season and qualified for Junior Nationals in the 10k, while Siciliano was a top-50 finisher at the regional cross country meet two seasons ago.

"Right now our 4-7 runners are pretty interchangeable," Donner said. "Chad Sussman looks like he is ready to step up, and the other guys have shown promise but have either battled through injuries or sickness, or just need to work on their consistency. There is a lot of talent on the men's team, but also a lot of question marks. If we can put things together we will be a scary team."

Also returning from last year's postseason lineup are Ben Littman and Brendan McGill.

Bucknell opens its season at home Friday with the Bison Open. It will be the first of three meets on the team's home course, including the Patriot League Championships. The league meet hasn't been held in Lewisburg since 2004.

The course has been modified for the championship meet and will include four 2k loops for the men's race. The Bison Open will be a shortened version of that with the runners completing just three loops for a 6k distance.