BRONX, N.Y. - The Yeshiva University men's cross country team, defending champions of the Hudson Valley Men's Athletic Conference, kicked off its 2012 season with a bang Sunday morning at Van Cortlandt Park, as the Maccabees emerged victorious in the 11-team, Baruch Invitational. The meet also served as the collegiate coaching debut for YU mentor, Brendan Donoghue.

YU placed four runners in the top-20, and amassed 68 points as a squad -- besting eight NCAA Division III institutions, one junior college and one NCAA Division II institution.

Senior Oliver Sax (University Hts., Ohio) paced the Macs with a third-place time of 29:49 on the famed 8,000-meter course, with classmate Natan Koloski (Philadelphia, Pa.) not far behind with a seventh-place time of 31:26. Junior newcomer Isaac Markel (Teaneck, N.J.) used a 32:16 time to finish 12th, while sophomores Dov Levine (W. Hempstead, N.Y.) and Yossi Lipton finished 20th (32:55) and 26th (33:37), respectively, to round out the scoring five for Donoghue's side.

Following YU's holiday break, the team will be back in action Oct. 14 at the BCC/KCC Invitational, which will also be contested at Van Cortlandt Park.