MT. MORRIS, NY – Juniors
Liam Sakakeeny and
Joe Berry both finished inside the top 35, helping to lead the University of Rochester men's cross country team to a sixth-place finish on Friday afternoon at the Mike Woods Invitational, hosted by SUNY Geneseo at Letchworth State Park.
Sakakeeny finished as the Yellowjackets' top runner, crossing the finish line with a time of 25:52.9, landing him the 24th-overall spot. Berry came in close behind, finishing 32nd overall in 26:12.1.
Austin Skeete,
Salim Ford, and
Nick Ferratella rounded out URochester's scoring runners. Skeete finished the race 53rd overall with a time of 26:58.1. Ford and Ferratella finished side by side, taking 59th and 61st. Ford ran a new personal best 8K time of 27:13.2, while Ferratella finished with a time of 27:15.7.
Gus Smith and
Maverick Kentz finished as displacers for the Yellowjackets. Smith finished 79th overall, clocking in at 27:51.0. Kentz crossed the line in 85th with a new 8K personal best of 27:54.3. Kentz went from 114th through the 2K mark, jumping 29 spots to his 85th overall finish.
As a team, Rochester finished with 196 points, a sixth-place finish, while second-ranked SUNY Geneseo finished with 55 points and the overall team victory, including having the top individual finisher Emerson Comer, who finished in a time of 24:58.7.
In the men's open race,
John Wiest took the Yellowjackets' top spot with a 33rd-overall finish, crossing the finish line with a time of 28:27.2.
Jack Buanes and Anthony Cosardo finished back-to-back in 54th and 55th, respectively. Buanesa ran a 29:18.9, with Cosardo right behind him in 29.29.4.
Jackson Welch rounded out the field for the Yellowjackets. Welch finished the open race with a time of 29:29.7 and a 61st overall finish.
RPI took the overall team win in the open race, with 27 points and three of the top five finishers.
The Yellowjackets next enter their Championship season, beginning with the 2026 University Athletic Association Cross Country Championship, hosted by the University of Chicago in Warrenville, IL, on Saturday, Oct. 31 at 1:15 p.m. CT.
