Brad Ruffo was the first Penn State Behrend runner to qualify for the National Championships in cross country. Ruffo went from the AMCC Newcomer of the Year in 2003 to Runner of the Year in 2005 by claiming the individual conference championship and then competing at nationals that same year. He was a four-time All-Conference selection in cross country and placed second at the AMCC Championships in his sophomore season. The three-time team MVP transitioned to the track & field season and set 12 new school records, including six indoor and six outdoor marks. 

 

Ruffo set the tone the moment he put on the men’s cross country uniform. The freshman was first on the team at all seven invitationals where the squad competed. The hard work during the regular season paid off for Ruffo, who took fourth at the AMCC Meet with a time of 28:45 to earn Newcomer of the Year honors. In track & field, he set the indoor (16:06.57) and outdoor (15:40.49) records in the 5000m run just to break them again as a sophomore. 

 

Ruffo got closer to the individual AMCC title in 2004 with a second-place finish at the championships, where he posted a time of 29:01. He earned All-Conference first-team honors for the second straight year and was also named Academic All-AMCC.

 

The time of 26:55 was the magic number combination Ruffo needed to claim the individual title at the AMCC Championships in his junior year. The AMCC Runner of the Year went on to place 12th out of 277 runners at the NCAA Regional to become the first Behrend runner to qualify for the national stage.  In the 8K race, Ruffo placed 63rd out of 211 runners at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships. The junior crossed the line with a time of 26:53 to make history for the Lions. The same year in T&F, he qualified for the ECAC Championships in the 4x800 relay.

 

In his final cross-country season, Ruffo was runner-up at the AMCC meet with a time of 28:38 to return to the NCAA Regionals. He capped his XC career with a fourth All-Conference nod, while graduating with 12 school records for both indoor and outdoor track & field (3k, 5k, 10k, DMR, 4x1600m, 4x800m).