Returning to the site of their opening meet a year ago, the Marauders cross country teams got a strong early reading on their progress Friday. McMaster's men finished second as a team, and their women third, at the UB Stampede hosted by the University of New York at Buffalo.

Darlington, Kondrat Pass Early Test

Following a busy summer of Canadian Olympic trials and a European tour on the track, OUA All-Star Connor Darlington led the Mac men, crossing the line sixth in 24:52.3, and leading all Canadians at the event.

Teammate Nick Kondrat gave a good indicator of his fitness at this early stage, and put in a substantial personal best to provide Mac's second score, crossing in 24:58.7 as the third Canadian.

Third-year runner Paul Rochus followed in 13th and kept McMaster well ahead of their Canadian competition from Western, while Gabriel Ghiglione (20th) and Christian MacGillivray (26th) rounded out the scoring for the Marauders.

Eight rookies enjoyed their first outings for the McMaster men on Friday, including Josh MacGillivray, Dylan Alick, Peter Wilson, Justyn Tyrrell, Aaron De Jong, Paul Robinson, Ryan Tyrrell and Matt McArthur.

Bettering their third-placed showing of a year ago, Mac was beaten only by Connecticut in Friday's field.

Marauder Women Rise to Podium

Like their male counterparts, McMaster's women improved on their placement of a season ago at the Stampede, rising from fourth to third in the team standings.

That improvement owed much to the runs of one Marauder veteran looking to lead the team in 2016, and another just acclimatizing to life in Maroon and Grey.

Fourth-year senior Emily Nowak provided Mac's low post Friday, finishing the 6km course in 22:04.3 as the second Canadian across the line.

In her first race as a Marauder, Rachel Faulds showed great promise, following two spots behind Nowak to score second for her new team in a time of 22:19.2.

Veterans Maddie Benjamin (17th), Kristen Kuhn (22nd) and Erin Mawhinney (23rd) completed the scoring for McMaster, while rookies Khushee Bahar and Maddy Kennedy opened their varsity careers.

The Marauders team performance saw them beat out the Western Mustangs for third, behind Duquesne and the hosts from Buffalo.