The Bona Venture

Issue date: 10/2/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Talbot Eckweiler/The Bona Venture Tiffany Barkley finished 13th.

Media Credit: Talbot Eckweiler/The Bona Venture Kevin Kirby finishes barefoot.

The men's and women's cross country teams each placed third in Saturday's Little 3 championships. This was the first meet St. Bonaventure hosted this season, as each team ran against Niagara and Canisius.

Junior Jimmy Burton finished ninth in the men's 8-kilometer run with his season-best time of 27:39. This is the third meet in a row where he led the Bonnies across the finish line. Behind him in 17th place was senior Mike Grosso, with a time of 28:47.

"The weather didn't cooperate to the best of what was wanted, but the team still worked well under the circumstances," Burton said.

"We ran the course about three or four times last week, so we definitely knew it a lot better than Niagara and Canisius, and I kind of like running in the cold," he said. "But it was good under the conditions."

The first intercollegiate meet here since 2006 drew a crowd of people, as it watched the men and women both run along the 8-kilometer and 5-kilometer courses, respectively, on the cloudy Saturday morning.

"This was a good race," Burton said on having the meet at home. "I think the best part about it was all of the fans that came out and cheered us on. You don't normally have a meet where people know who you are so it felt good."

On the women's side, second-year runner and junior Tiffany Barkley finished in 13th, where she also finished with her season-best time for the 5k at 22:02. She also led the women's team back on Sept. 19 at the National Catholic Invitational. Following behind her in 17th place with a time of 22:22 was freshman Kimberly Burke.

Coach Tom Hagen commented on the current season and the team's overall performance.

"Team-wise we are struggling, but just a little bit as we try and bring that fourth and fifth runner around," Hagen said. "Many people are setting a lot of good personal-best times."

With only one freshman on the men's side, Adam McDermott, the rest of the team has been together and know how their chemistry works.

"The boys team seems very stable, while the girls team is trying to get through injuries and working individually on the courses," Hagen said.

This Saturday at 1 p.m. the Bonnies host the Alumni Race. They return to intercollegiate competition on Saturday, Oct. 17 at 11 a.m. when they travel to the Albany Invitational.

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