The Dunkirk native would finish fourth in 29:07.0, just 38.8 seconds off the pace.
The Devils finished seventh in the 10-team field. Geneseo took the team title with six of the top seven finishers. Sean McAneny won in a time of 28:28.2.
During the the post-meet awards ceremony, Francis was cited as the SUNYAC Elite 20 Award winner for having the highest grade-point average of all the competitors in the men's meet. The senior Video Production and Political Science student has maintained a 3.95 GPA.
Fredonia's finished ahead of Buffalo State and earned two points in the Battle By The Lake competition. That enabled the Blue Devils to take a 6-4 lead.
Other finishers for the Blue Devils were:
Kyle Campbell (Niagara Falls, N.Y. / Niagara Falls), 46th, 31:23.8
Noah Watkins (Cortland, N.Y. / Cortland), 60th, 32:06.5
Ryan Dunning (Syracuse, N.Y. / West Genesee), 65th, 32:24.7
Kyle Egan (Monroe, N.Y. / Monroe-Woodbury), 74th, 32:55.3
Seth Fonda (Buffalo, N.Y. / Cheektowaga), 77th, 33:19.0
Jeremy Erman (East Meadow, N.Y. / East Meadow), 82nd, 33:36.5
Matthew Erman (East Meadow, N.Y. / East Meadow), 95th, 34:29.0
Tony Gettino (Camillus, N.Y. / West Genesee), 102nd, 35:13.8
Kurbs first for Fredonia at SUNYAC meet
Kurbs finished the 6K course in 26:54.5 and was 31st in a field of 104 runners. The 6K course featured three loops around campus in what turned out to be a wet, muddy event.
Geneseo won the meetby placing the top five finishers, including Elise Ramirez who crossed the line at 24:02.8.
The Fredonia women also earned two points in the Battle By The Lake competition with Buffalo State. The Blue Devils were eighth and the Bengals ninth in the team standings.
Other Fredonia runners were:
Elena Davis (Rochester, N.Y. / Irondequoit), 31st, 26:54.5
Stephanie Wojnowski (Rochester, N.Y. / Eastridge), 43, 27:17.0
Natalie Hansen (Macedon, N.Y. / Penfield), 57th, 29:08.9
Leesa Peterson (Smithtown, N.Y. / Smithtown East), 64th, 28:26.0
Emily Maguire (Oakdale, N.Y. / Connetquot), 71st, 28:45.4
Morgan Ashton (Whitesboro,N.Y. / Whitesboro), 77th, 29:05.3