UTICA, N.Y. — The Houghton University cross country teams put together strong showings at the Empire 8 Cross Country Championships on Saturday, hosted at the SUNY Poly Cross Country Course. The men earned a second place finish in the 8K course, while the women claimed fourth in their 6K championship.

Men's Race: Highlanders Take Runner-Up Honors

The Houghton men captured a stellar second-place finish in the team standings with 81 points, trailing only team champion SUNY Geneseo (24 points).

Pacing the Highlanders was senior Luke Ellis, who crossed the finish line 13th overall with a time of 26:26.1. Houghton's scoring pack kept a tight spread of just 50.2 seconds:

• Henry Sardina (So.) – 26:38.8 (16th place)

• Evan Geer (So.) – 27:01.5 (21st place)

• John Wohlgemuth (So.) – 27:15.9 (24th place)

• Kurt Akins (So.) – 27:16.2 (25th place)

Additional key contributors for the Highlanders included Elijah Strickland (27:24.2) and Connor Little (27:42.4).

Women's Race: Houghton Battles to Fourth Place

In the women's 6K championship, Houghton raced to a solid fourth-place team finish out of 11 teams, totaling 100 points. SUNY Geneseo claimed the team title with a perfect score of 15.

Junior Emberlynn Nolt led the way for the Highlanders, breaking the 23-minute barrier to finish 13th overall with a time of 22:48.9. Houghton's scoring five featured:

• Aria Larson (Sr.) – 23:09.8 (17th place)

• Risa Palmer (Sr.) – 23:29.2 (23rd place)

• Jenna Binney (Jr.) – 23:31.0 (24th place)

• Peyton Kellogg (So.) – 25:07.3 (50th place)

Rounding out Houghton's top varsity runners were Delaney Grant (25:10.9) and McKenzie Ennis (25:36.3).