A total of three individuals representing the University of Rochester men's cross country team will compete at the upcoming NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships next weekend, following their performances at the NCAA Niagara Regional on Saturday.
 
Graduate student James Catania and sophomores Liam Sakakeeny and Joe Berry will sport Yellowjacket colors at their first NCAA national competition, taking place on Saturday, November 22nd at the Roger Milliken Center in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The men's race is scheduled for a 10 a.m. start, with the women's competition to follow at 11 a.m.
 
All three Rochester runners received at-large individual berths to the NCAA Championships by finishing among the top-7 finishers from non-qualifying teams at the Niagara Regional held yesterday at Genesee Valley Park.
 
Catania led the group with a 12th-place finish, while Sakakeeny and Berry ended in 14th and 15th, respectively. The three were closely grouped at the finish, with Catania crossing the line in 25:24.5, Sakakeeny at 25:31.5 and Berry at 25:32.9 over the 8K course.
 
The three helped the Yellowjackets rank third of 27 teams at the regional, earning Rochester's best finish in the NCAA regionals since 2021.
 
Rochester's runners will make it the fourth time in the last five seasons that the Yellowjackets will have at least one individual at NCAAs. Rochester, as a program, has never had three individuals compete at nationals who were not a part of a qualifying team.
 
Overall, the Yellowjackets competing at nationals will be Rochester's 37th total NCAA appearance, with 21 of those being team berths. The Yellowjackets' last individual runner at the national championship was Zach Spergel in 2023.
 
Fans can watch the meet via live stream on www.NCAA.com, or track live results at www.leonetiming.com.