UTICA, NY - Utica University's women's cross country team traveled across town to compete in the 2025 SUNY Poly Short Course Invitational. Pioneers filled out much of the top-10, with four Utica runners placing among the top. Despite the strong individual performances, Utica placed second of four as a team. 

SUNY Oneonta won the team scoring at the event following two sub-17:00 finishes on the 4km course and placing five runners in the top-10. SUNY Cobleskill placed third in the event with a 7th place finish, followed by their four next best runners placing 13th through 16th. Event-host SUNY Poly finished fourth in the event.

Marlo Townsend (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) was the first Pioneer across the finish line, recording a third place finish with a 17:06.8 time. Townsend completed the race just 7.1 seconds behind the 1st place runner, and 14.8 seconds ahead the runner behind her. Catherine Manna (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) and Maria Stuhlman (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) placed fifth and eighth, respectively, with finish times of 17:24.1 and 17:53.0. Freshman Lacey Simmons (Vernon Center, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) found success in her debut, placing ninth with a 18:36.2. Caroline Young, the fifth Pioneer to finish, crossed the finish line after 20:55.0 to place 25th overall and 17th among team placement.

Utica had three more runners in the event. Emma Charboneau (Fultonville, NY/Fonda-Fultonville) finished just one-third of a second behind Young. Isabella Verdejo (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) placed 28th overall with a time of 21:26.2. Kamryn Williams (New York Mills, NY/New York Mills) was the final Pioneer across the finish line, placing 32nd of 41 total runners on a time of 22:15.9. 

The team will next compete in the Hamilton Short Course Invitational on September 13th in Clinton, NY. The event is scheduled to begin at noon.