UTICA, NY - The Utica University women's cross country team is set to take on the 2025 Empire 8 Championships, hosted by St. John Fisher this weekend. Start time on Saturday, November 1 from Rochester, NY is set for 12pm.
Follow Along: Live results can be found
here, courtesy of Leone Timing.
Last Time Out: The team placed third out of four teams at the Hamilton College Short Course Tuneup, hosted by Hamilton College on Saturday morning. Leading the way for the Pioneers was
Catherine Manna (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), who was the first Pioneer to cross the finish line in sixth place with a time of 15:23.3.
Lacey Simmons (Vernon Center, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) was the next Pioneer across the line in 18th place with a time of 16:31.4.
Emma Charboneau (Fultonville, NY/Fonda-Fultonville) ,
Isabella Verdejo (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford), and Caroline Young made up the next group of Pioneers across the line with times of 17:13.9, 17:21.7, and 18:04.7, respectively. Rounding out the scorecard for the Pioneers was
Kamryn Williams (New York Mills, NY/New York Mills) and Courtney Pettit, who finished in 31st and 39th place respectively with times of 18:43.7 and 21:03.0.
Runner of the Week: Catherine Manna (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) has been named the Empire 8 Women's Cross Country Runner of the Week, as announced by the league on Monday. Manna was the first Pioneer and Empire 8 finisher to cross the finish line at the Hamilton College Short Course Tuneup with a time of 15:23.3. Manna's efforts led the Pioneers to a third place team finish.
A Look at the Field: 11 teams will be competing in the championships. Alfred, SUNY Brockport, SUNY Geneseo, Hartwick, Houghton, Keuka, Nazareth, SUNY Poly, Russell Sage, and the host, St. John Fisher will square off against the Pioneers on Saturday.
Last Year's Championship: At the 2024 edition of the Empire 8 Championships, the women's team put together a fantastic third place outing. Manna led the women with a 17th place finish out of over 100 runners in the 6k race, finishing with a time of 23:09.9. Townsend finished right behind Manna in 18th place with a time of 23:10.3.
About the Course: The race will be run on a 2K loop course at the Murphy Field Cross Country Course on the campus of St. John Fisher. The course is run 99% on grass, 1% hard packed dirt surface with rolling terrain.
Up Next: The Pioneers will ready for the NCAA Niagara Regional Championship to be held on Saturday, November 15, hosted by University of Rochester. Start time from Rochester, NY is set for 10am.
