ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. - Senior Oliver Sax (University Heights, Ohio), the 2011 Hudson Valley Men's Athletic Conference (HVMAC) Cross Country Championships runner-up, bested the field Sunday afternoon at Bard College to capture the 2012 individual title, using a 27:56 time on the 8,000-meter course to lift Yeshiva University to its third-consecutive HVMAC team championship. Sax's time bested last season's champion, teammate and senior Samuel Cohen (Thornhill, Ont.) by two seconds, as first-year head coach Brendan Donoghue's Maccabees placed six runners in the top-eight to secure a 21-point finish.

"The guys worked hard all summer and have continued to train at a high level throughout this season," said Donoghue, "and they are getting their just rewards. We are honored to bring the championship trophy back to Yeshiva, as the team works so hard to represent the university."

Following Sax and Cohen, a quartet of YU student-athletes placed fifth-through-eighth while running sub-31:30 times in the victorious run. Sophomore Dov Levine (W. Hempstead, N.Y.) crossed the finish line with a fifth-place effort of 30:17, which was 15 seconds faster than junior Isaac Markel (Teaneck, N.J.). Senior, Natan Koloski (Philadelphia, Pa.) registered a seventh-place mark of 31:06 to clinch the meet for the Macs, while sophomore Yossi Lipton (Toronto, Ont.) finished just six seconds behind in eighth. Rounding out Yeshiva's top seven was senior Asher Apsan (Springfield, N.J.), who scored 15th with a mark of 32:56.

Along with being Yeshiva's third-straight HVMAC crown, Donoghue's side has now won all three meets in which it has entered in 2012 (Baruch Invitational, Sept. 9; St. John's Cross Country Festival, Oct. 14). The Maccabees will now turn their attention to next Sunday's (Oct. 28) Skyline Conference Championships at Chadwick Lake Park in Newburgh, N.Y. The men's race slated to get underway at 12:45 p.m.