UTICA, NY - Utica University's men's cross country team will travel to Genesee Valley Park to compete in the Rochester Yellowjacket Invitational. This will be the first time this fall that the Pioneers compete on an 8-kilometer course, and the first time Utica races in the event.

Follow Along: Results for the event as they come in can be found here.

Last Time Out: Utica last ran in the Hamilton Short Course Invitational, finishing fourth out of eight teams. Bennett Melita (Johnstown, NY/Fonda-Fultonville) led the pack for Utica, finishing seventh overall with a time of 15:28.3. Tobias Jeralds (Canaan, NY/Chatham) placed 19th with a 15:58.8 as the only other Pioneer with a sub-16-minute finish time. Anthony Leotta (Dix Hills, NY/Half Hollow Hills West), Timothy Jeralds (Canaan, NY/Chatham Central), and Killian Bauer (Verona, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherill) rounded out the team scoring for Utica, placing 39th, 40th, and 48th overall, each finishing within five seconds of the 16:30 mark.

Starting Rotation: The Pioneers have seen a consistent top seven in the early season. In both races, Melita, both Jeralds brothers, Leotta, and Bauer have made up the team scoring. Nipping at their heels are Forest Martin (Poland, NY/Poland Central) and Ben Bellinger (Sherrill, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill), who have each finished 6th and 7th among Utica runners in each event. At the SUNY Poly Short Course Invitational, Timothy Jeralds (Canaan, NY/Chatham Central) rounded out Utica's team scoring with a 5:34.3 average mile pace, followed by Bellinger just 4.4 seconds higher and Martin, who was 7.4 seconds behind. In Hamilton, Martin and Bellinger finished with mile paces just 8 and 9 seconds higher than Bauer.

Up Next: Utica will wait two weekends before their next event, the Paul Short Run. The race, held at Goodman Campus Cross Country Course in Bethlehem, PA, will be the 51st iteration of the event.