ROCHESTER, NY – The Houghton cross country teams traveled to Roberts Wesleyan University for a large invitational with several NCAA Division II and inter-regional Division III teams represented. Humidity increased throughout the week, but conditions were dry on the course. The men took the line at 10am for their first 8,000m race of the year. They finished 6^th out of 16 complete teams, and the 4^th NCAA Division III team. SUNY Geneseo (NCAA #3) handily won the meet. Regionally ranked #3 RIT was also ahead of the Highlanders. Amos Bixler was the top finisher in a very fast 25:44 (5:11 per mile). This is Bixler's fastest opening 8k of his career. The 27:06 top five average is 9^th all-time in program history. The women's 5,000m race went off at 11am. This is a rare distance for the women, but many were excited to compare performances against high school times. In the end, Houghton finished 5^th of 17 complete teams, and the 4^th NCAA Division III team. Their 19:32 top 5 average is 5^th all-time in Houghton history. The 5,000m use to be a frequent race in collegiate racing before 2010. Noelle Linenfelser battled teammate Emberlynn Nolt to the line, where the duo finished in 19:10 (6:11 per mile) and 19:11, respectively.
 
Men Top 5 (249 finishers)
24^th – Amos Bixler, 25:44
54^th – Ben Allen, 26:26
84^th – Connor Little, 27:32
99^th – Luke Ellis, 27:42
115^th – Salim Ford, 28:03
 
Women Top 5 (183 finishers)
18^th – Noelle Linenfelser, 19:10
19^th – Emberlynn Nolt, 19:11
22^nd – Amy Collins, 19:23
38^th – Aria Larson, 19:45
55^th – Jenna Binney, 20:09
 
Coach Hager commented after the race, "It was a large race, and new course for our athletes. I think the environment was good at the event. In some ways, this training week felt odd with some sickness, humidity, etc. What I really liked was some of our top athletes grinding out solid races, with a conservative race plan, and feeling like there's more in the tank. For now, that should be encouraging. We also had several others very happy about their times, who looked strong. Risa Palmer, Miranda Lyon, Delaney Grant, Mae Ennis, to name a few. Another thing to note is a few of our first year boys had really strong opening 8,000m races. It's a big jump from the high school distance. They handled it well, and should make another jump with more opportunities to learn the race. All in all, I do feel like we took the step we needed today. The next four races are very important for a variety of reasons."
 
The Highlanders are in action again on 10/11 at their home invitational on the Field of Dreams XC course.