What is better than getting a career-best placement at a race? How about finishing with a time faster than any other woman in Binghamton University history?

Katie Radzik did just that last Saturday, breaking a Binghamton record for fastest time at the Lehigh Paul Short Run. She finished with a time of 21:14 in the 6,000-meter race. She also placed 13th, two spots ahead of her performance last year.

“It felt really good,” Radzik said. “I felt a lot better than last year, and my time was a little better too.”

Both the men’s and women’s teams were facing some of the best competition in the eastern United States, featuring teams like Princeton and Villanova, who won the women’s and men’s races, respectively.

In the women’s meet the Bearcats placed 25th out of 35 schools, and in the men’s meet the Bearcats placed 35th out of 42. Radzik was followed in the Bearcat order of runners by freshman Kelda Nelson, who placed 105th in a field of 237 runners, and sophomore Jamie Schulte, who finished 124th.

The men’s cross country team competed with 41 other schools and a pool of 278 runners. Chris Gaube, a freshman racing in only his second meet, was the top finisher for Binghamton again, placing 141st at a time of 26:13 in the 8,000-meter course. Gaube’s sophomore teammate Connor Martin finished 153rd in the same course and second for the Bearcats.

Gaube ran another stunning performance as the freshman appears to be starting his career at Binghamton with excellence. If anyone is feeling a bit of deja vu, there’s a reason for that: Gaube’s start to his collegiate running career is starting to resemble that of Katie Radzik. Impressive, especially considering that Gaube has another three years to improve.

The men’s and women’s teams are relying on a lot of young runners, but with two races under their belt, both teams are looking up to the challenge.

Looking ahead, the teams will compete at the Leopard Invitational at Lafayette College on Saturday, Oct. 14, before heading to the America East championships at Maine later in the month. They will also compete in the Northeast Regional at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx in November.

“It will be wait-and-see with Lafayette because I’ve never raced there,” Radzik said. “But as far regionals go, I should hopefully be able to do real well at Van Cortlandt Park because I’ve run there before, so hopefully I can improve.”