MT. MORRIS, NY – Sophomore Sam Mermelstein and senior Ella Blau both ran to top-25 individual finishes, as the University of Rochester women's cross country team earned an eighth-place finish on Friday afternoon at the 44th-annual Mike Woods Invitational, hosted by SUNY Geneseo in Letchworth State Park.
 
Mermelstein was the Yellowjackets' top finisher, placing 22nd with a time of 22:58.0, while Blau came in two spots behind her in 24th, clocking in at 22:59.2. Mermelstein's final split, from the 5k mark to the finish line, was the 10th-fastest final split among all 183 runners, coming in at 3:53.9.
 
Gypsy Wish made it three 'Jackets inside the top 50 with a 47th-place result and a 23:57.4 time, while Adriana Ochoa came in 62nd, crossing the finish line in 24:22.3.
 
Maddy Mariani rounded out URochester's five, scoring runners, finishing 82nd with a time of 24:55.6, while Katie Punch (25:02.3) and Olivia Nibot (25:03.5) were the Yellowjackets displacers, finishing back-to-back in 85th and 86th place, respectively.
 
Next up for the Yellowjackets, Maya Kumar crossed the finish line in 91st place with a time of 25:08.9, while Emily Dill clocked in at 25:14.8, good for 98th, and one of nine 'Jackets in the top 100.
 
As a team, Rochester placed eighth with 207 points, while second-ranked NYU took home the meet title with 20 points, including the top finisher, Josephine Dziedzic, who crossed the finish line in first place with a time of 21:17.7. 14th-ranked Carnegie Mellon came in second place with 60 points, just edging host and No. 11 SUNY Geneseo, who finished third with 61 points in the 17-team field.
 
In the open race, three Yellowjackets finished in the top 20, while another two came in the top 30 of the 60-runner field. Lilly Streicher was Rochester's top finish, placing 13th with a time of 25:07.8, with Kara Goldstein right behind her in 14th place with a time of 25:08.2.
 
Two spots behind Streicher and Goldstein, Ariane Yedidia clocked in at 25:19.4, good for 16th, while Chloe Fietze (26th, 26:04.9) and Solvieg Wartchow (27th, 26:15.4) joined the trio in the top 30.
 
Geneseo was the top-team finisher in the open race, with 15 points and all 12 of the top finishers, while Rochester came in second with 64 points, edging Dickinson in third with 75 points.
 
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.