SPARTANBURG, SC – Three members of the University of Rochester men's cross country team completed their 2025 seasons by running at the NCAA Division III Championship at the Milliken Research Park on Saturday morning.
 
Sophomore Liam Sakakeeny led the Yellowjackets in his first NCAA appearance, running the 8-kilometer course in 26:13.5, good for a 227th-place result. Classmate Joe Berry ended five seconds behind in 26:18.7, ranking 235th in the field, while graduate student James Catania ended 250th, crossing the finish in 26:30.5.
 
All three individuals were making their NCAA national championship debut after earning top-15 spots at the NCAA Niagara Regional last weekend in Rochester.
 
After the first 2K of the race, the three 'Jacket runners saw themselves toward the back of the 294-runner field, but steadily moved up the rest of the race.
 
For Sakakeeny, the sophomore made his biggest jump in both the third and seventh kilometers of the race, moving up 12 spots in the field. Over the final 6K, Sakakeeny ended up passing a total of 54 runners. It was a strong final sprint to the finish as well, with his last 1,000 meters ending up as his best of the race, at 3 minutes flat.
 
Berry raced on a similar trajectory to his classmate Sakakeeny, ranking 282nd after the opening 2,000 meters. Throughout the rest of the race, he passed 47 runners to reach his final place. Berry's first and last 1,000's were his best, posting nearly identical times around 3:02.
 
For Catania, the graduate student ended up going out in 3:02.5 for his opening 1,000 meters, his best of the day. After dropping back over the next split, he finished off the race by passing 38 runners, including 10 in the seventh section of the race to reach his final placement.
 
Overall in the race, Johns Hopkins' Emmanuel Leblond captured the NCAA title in 23:35.0. The team champion was top-ranked Wisconsin-La Crosse, with Eagles scoring 82 team points, fifty points ahead of second-place SUNY Geneseo.