Men's Cross Country | 11/17/2025 3:00:00 PM
Both the SUNY Geneseo men's and women's cross country teams, senior Amos Bixler of Houghton University and junior Bennett Melita of Utica University will represent the Empire 8 at the 2024 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships, which will be held on Saturday, Nov. 22 at Roger Milliken Cross Country course at the Roger Milliken Center in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The men’s race will begin at 10 a.m. Eastern, followed by the women’s race at 11 a.m. Converse University and OneSpartanburg, Inc. are hosting the NCAA Championships.
The Knights will have seven men and seven women's runners compete for individual, All-American and team honors.
Ryan Hagan won the individual title at the 2025 Niagara Region Championship on the men's side, while Ann Brennan led the way for Geneseo on the women's side with the race win at the Niagara Championships.
On the men's side, Geneseo has qualified for nationals for the 22nd straight season. Geneseo placed sixth nationally at the 2024 NCAA Championships and were national runners-up in 2016. The Geneseo women's program is headed to the NCAA Championship for the 25th straight season. Geneseo placed ninth nationally at the 2024 NCAA Championships, have recorded 10 straight top-10 team finishes, five top-three finishes overall and were NCAA Division III National Champions in 2005.
In order to be eligible to participate in the championships, teams and individuals had to qualify in their respective NCAA regional competitions held on Nov. 15. Thirty-two teams were selected to participate in each championship. The top seven-person team automatically qualified from each of the 10 regions. Twenty-two additional teams were selected at-large.
Seventy individuals, the first seven student-athletes from each region who are not a part of a qualifying team, were selected to participate in each championship. Penelope Greene of SUNY Geneseo was an NCAA All-American on the women's side last season, placing third, while Alex Hillyard and Charlie Wilson were All-Americans on the men's side a year ago.
For the second straight year, Bennett Melita (Johnstown, NY/Fonda Fultonville) of Utica University earned an at-large bid to the NCAA DIII Men's Cross Country Championship after his program record fifth-place finish at the NCAA DIII Niagara Regional held this past weekend. The 2025 Empire 8 Champion, Melita finished 164th overall in his first NCAA Championship appearance last season.
Senior Amos Bixler put himself right in the mix of the best in the region on Nov. 15, placing eighth overall to earn the NCAA Championship berth and is the first male athlete from Houghton to qualify for an NCAA Championship.
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
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