GENESEO, NY – With a trio of top-50 finishers, the University of Rochester women's cross country team earned a sixth-place result at the 2024 Mike Woods Invitational, hosted by SUNY Geneseo, on Saturday at the National Warplane Museum, their best team finish at the Knights' event since 2019.
 
Ponko was UR's top finish and one of three Yellowjackets in the top 50, crossing the finish line in 22:42.9, good for 33rd overall. Sab Lin followed seven spots behind Ponko in 40th, clocking in at 22:48.7, while Kat Benninger joined the duo in the top 50 with a 45th-place finish and time of 22:58.9.
 
Next up, Alicia Lawson and Riley Joseph rounded out Rochester's top-five finishers, with Lawson placing 67th with a time of 23:21.1, while Joseph finished in 23:21.8, 69th overall.
 
Andie Burton and Ella Blau were the 'Jackets' displacers, with Burton coming in 78th, crossing the finish line in 23:34.1, while Blau earned an 84th-place result with her 23:39.8 time.
 
The pair placed all seven of the Yellowjackets' top seven finishers in the top 85, helping UR to a sixth-place result with 240 points in the 29-team field.
 
SUNY Geneseo's Penelope Greene took home the individual title, finishing first with a time of 20:39.7, while RPI's Jules Bleskoski and Olivia Pisacano rounded out the top-three individual finishers in the field of 378.
 
Team-wise, the Knights also took home the top spot with 52 points, while Carnegie Mellon finished second with 67 and RPI came in third with 78.
 
Each of Rochester's top-seven runners moved up over the final kilometer of the course as they made their final kick, with Blau moving past 16 runners over the final stretch.
 
Rochester next heads to Attleboro, MA for the 2024 University Athletic Association Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 2, with the races set to begin at 11:00 a.m.