The first four races are in the books, and the focus of the Binghamton University cross country teams is now on tomorrow’s America East Championship.
For the men, it’s been an up-and-down season, which is understandable since five of the team’s 10 runners are freshmen. While half of the women’s team is composed of first year students as well, it is star freshman Katie Radzik that has shined the brightest.
In the last meet, the 39th Annual Albany Cross Country Invitational, Radzik finished third in the 5,000-meter race with a time of 17:46. She led the women’s squad to a sixth place finish out of 23 teams, and has been BU’s top runner in each of the first four races.
“She’s running very well for us,” said head coach Annette Acuff. “We’re nothing but pleased with her.”
On the men’s side at Albany, junior Jeff Herbert was Binghamton’s top runner in the 8,000-meter race, with a time of 25:51. He finished 32nd overall, and led the men’s team to a 14th place finish out of 27 teams.
In tomorrow’s conference championship, the goal for each runner is to improve on their times from the Binghamton Invitational on Sept. 10, which was the only other home meet this season.
“It’s a pretty tough cross country course,” Acuff said. “I’d like to see improvement on their times from the [Binghamton Invitational].”
The AE Championship will feature nine teams, with the women’s race starting at 11 a.m. and the men’s race set for noon.
“We’d like to finish in the top half of the conference with both teams,” Acuff said.