Men's Cross Country | 11/1/2025 3:30:10 PM
PITTSFORD, NY – SUNY Geneseo, ranked fifth in the latest United States Track & Field and Cross Country Division III national poll, won its second straight league title, as the Knights won the team crown at the 2025 Empire 8 Men’s Cross Country Championship at Murphy Cross Country Course hosted by St. John Fisher University on Saturday, Nov. 1. Utica University junior Bennett Melita won the individual title for the second time in three seasons, recording a time of 25:34.2 over the 8,000-meter course.
The Knights had the second, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh place finishers and 10 of the first 18 runners to cross the finish line to win the team title with a score of 24 points to claim its 11th straight league title (nine SUNYAC, two E8). Utica, led by Melita’s individual title and five runners finishing in the top-25, finished second with a team score of 72 points, while 2023 champion Houghton placed third with 82 points. SUNY Brockport was fourth with 102 points, Nazareth University finished fifth with 114 points and host St. John Fisher was sixth overall with 174 points. Alfred University, Hartwick College, SUNY Poly, Russell Sage College and Keuka College rounded out the team scoring.
Melita took the lead just before the halfway point of the race and never looked back, extending his lead to at the 6,000-meter mark and pulling away over the final 2,000-meters to win by 24 seconds. James Tette of SUNY Geneseo rallied late to place second in a time of 25:58.4, while Amos Bixler of Houghton finished third overall, holding off Thomas Blake of Geneseo, as the pair both finished in 26:07.6.
The Geneseo trio of Connor Hitt, Anson Butler, and Kole Owens finished fifth, sixth, and seventh respectively, while eighth place finisher Jace Stuart of St. John Fisher and Geneseo’s Owen Willard placed ninth to round out the All-E8 first team selections.
The All-Conference selections will be announced by the league in November. Runners who finished first through ninth will be All-E8 first team selections, while runners who finished 10-18 are second team selections and the 19th-27th place finishers will be third team selections.
Runners will be action at 11 a.m. on November 15 at the NCAA Atlantic Region Championships from Genesee Valley Park in Rochester, NY, hosted by the University of Rochester.
2025 Empire 8 Men's Cross Country Championship Results
SUNY Geneseo – 24 (Team Champion)
Utica – 72
Houghton – 82
SUNY Brockport – 102
Nazareth – 114
St. John Fisher – 174
Alfred – 184
Hartwick – 266
SUNY Poly – 300
Russell Sage – 303
Keuka – 314
2025 Empire 8 Men's Cross Country Individual Champion/Most Outstanding Runner
Bennett Melita, Jr., Utica - 25:34.2
2025 Empire 8 Men's Cross Country Torchbearer Award Winner
Tobias Jeralds, Sr., Utica – 3.79 GPA (Finance major)