Utica, NY (October 8, 2014) - The Utica College men and women cross country teams head across town Saturday to Clinton, NY for the Hamilton Invitational. Last season at Hamilton, the UC women took third place while the men finished fifth out of the 13 team field.

Event & Course Details

The women's race is set to start at 11 a.m. with the men's scheduled to follow at 12 p.m.  The competition will take place at the Hamilton College Cross Country Course on campus. The Continental track runs along the Love Baseball Field's Outfield heading towards the golf course.  Follow the marked course to complete the entire cross-country race loop, which circles the golf course and the farm field just to the west of it.  The course will be marked by mowed grass, painted arrows, and volunteers along the course.  Return to Love field following the same route that you used to enter the cross country course.  The finish line is located at the east end of Love field near Dunham lot.  The course may have wet and muddy areas.

Last Time Out – Pioneers Compete @ Geneseo Invite

Last week the Pioneers raced at the Geneseo Invitational hosted by SUNY Geneseo and held at the Letchworth State Park known as the "Grand Canyon of the East". The UC men placed 15^th led by sophomore Josh Lee who finished first for the Pioneers and 60^th overall out 289 runners while the Pioneer women finished 17^th behind junior Ashton Villeneuve (Holland Patent, NY/Holland Patent) who placed 33^rd out of 286 runners.

Other notables for the men include sophomore Erik Winberg who placed 74^th overall and second for UC.  Senior Jaime McNamara came in third for Utica with a watch of 27:24, crossing the finish line in 88^th overall. Junior Corey Zlatniski and freshman Karsten Bartagelata rounded out the Pioneer scoring in fourth and fifth place.  Zlatniski took 91^st with a time of 27:27 while Bartagelata placed 126^th clocking a time of 29:31.

For the women, Junior Samantha Bennett (Mexico, NY/Mexico) finished second for Utica and 104^th overall with a watch of 24:57. Sophomore's Sarah DePalma (Amsterdam, NY/Broadalbin-Perth), Katherine Pearce (Weymouth, MA/Weymouth) and Abby Schaible (Esperance, NY/Duanesburg) completed the Pioneer scorecard all finishing within 1:20 apart.  DePalma took 113^th place with a clock of 25:20 while Pearce crossed the finish in 119th and Schaible in 125^th.

Post-Season Around the Corner

Following Saturday's final exhibition race, the Pioneers will have a week off to prepare for post-season competition.  Utica will head to Pittsford, NY on Oct. 25 for the New York State Track & Field Conference Championships hosted by St. John Fisher.  Last season State's, the Pioneer men placed fifth out of 12 teams while the women finished sixth out of 11 teams at Hamilton College.