PITTSFORD, NY – The cross country teams traveled to St. John Fisher University on Friday to preview the Empire 8 Championship course. This was a 'short course' race, where the women compete at 4,000m and the men 6,000m, both 2,000m short of championship distance. Most of the Empire 8 schools toed the line for the meet, as well as University of Buffalo, SUNY Cortland, William Smith/Hobart, and PSU-Behrend. The temperature was near ideal for an August race, and the course was relatively dry.
 
The women went off first and battled well. In 2019, the Empire 8 Championship Houghton women's team competed at this same meet. They averaged 16:56 for the 4,000m race. On Friday, this women's squad averaged 16:02. Emberlynn Nolt and Amy Collins led the way with a photo finish, both at 15:39, please 16^th and 17^th (the first non Buffalo, Geneseo finishers). Aria Larson came in next at 15:55 in 26^th place. Overall, the squad placed 4^th, getting edged by three points by SUNY Cortland. Buffalo won, with SUNY Geneseo in 2^nd.
 
The men saw similar success in comparison to the 2019 team, who were 3^rd at Empire 8, losing only by 7 points. That squad averaged 21:15 for 6,000m, and this year's team went 20:30. Amos Bixler led the way for a 12^th place finish in 19:56, followed by a brilliant run by Ben Allen in 19^th at 20:06. Luke Ellis and Connor Little sprinted to the line to finish in 20:36 and 20:37. The men finished 5^th place, in a tight battle. SUNY Cortland surged to finish just two points ahead. Conference rival Nazareth was just ahead of that in 3^rd place.
 
Coach's Corner
Women: I made the bold move of encouraging the team to be a bit reckless in this first meet. Yes, distance running is all about control and patience. But currently, we are trying to learn to put ourselves in position to do something special, when the body cooperates. They certainly did this today, and honestly the looked good doing it. Emberlynn apologized after the meet for how fast she went out. But after 2k she was in 12^th and she finished in 16^th. So she didn't lose much ground, and that's kind of the point. Freshman Amy Collins had a great day, and our top 6, relatively speaking, were really close to where they needed to be.
Men: Ben Allen looked good. That's the first thing that comes to mind. A senior on a mission to keep our culture and recent history intact. I love it. Otherwise good to see guys like Connor Little make the jump we knew he could. Luke Ellis, on a really high volume week, just looking strong through a tough course. Alumni Caleb Kasper said after the meet…"There's nothing quite like the Houghton peak". And this is what I keep telling myself. You always want more in the moment, but we operate a little bit different than some of these teams, and are always ready to peak for the meets that really count. That's awhile down the road, and I think both squads started this season on a higher step than last year.
 
RESULTS
 
The squads will be back in action on 9/13 at Hamilton College for the Hamilton Short Course Invitational.