With a strong performance at last weekend’s Buffalo Stampede junior cross country runner Mac Byrne-Houser earned Male Student-Athlete of the Week honors.

Byrne-Houser finished the eight-kilometer race in 25:29.2, which is No. 1 in program history. He credits his record breaking performance to his training and coaching.

“It’s pretty much a great honor, but just following the training, and over time I’ve been able to push myself.” Byrne-Houser said. “With the coaching here it’s pretty much expected.”

Running against top Mid-American Conference (MAC) schools like Akron and Buffalo, the Colonials took fourth at the six-team meet with 118 points. With a young team this year, experience is everything and Byrne-Houser feels the best is yet to come.

“I think we have a great group of guys that can really pull together and make something special happen.” Byrne-Houser said. “The standard goal for the whole team is to win a conference championship.”

Freshman Richard Lednak and Ryan Brown also had strong performances, finishing with times that placed them in the top ten in program history.

RMU will run again Oct. 6 at the Slippery Rock Invitational, which is the last meet before Northeast Conference (NEC) Championships Oct. 27 in Smithfield, RI.