Women's Cross Country | 10/31/2026 12:03:03 PM
UTICA, NY – Nationally-ranked SUNY Geneseo swept the all five top scoring spots and had the top eight finishers overall to earn its third straight Empire 8 Cross Country title, as the Knights won the 2026 Empire 8 Women’s Cross Country Championship from SUNY Poly Cross Country Course, hosted by SUNY Poly on Saturday, Oct. 31. SUNY Geneseo junior Ari Reback won the individual title, finishing five seconds ahead of teammate Alexa Kosier over the 6,000-meter course in a time of 21:50.1.
The Knights, ranked 12th in the most recent Division III Women’s Cross Country Division III national poll had the top eight finishers to earn a perfect team score of 15 points. The Knights have now won 15 straight league titles (12 SUNYAC, three Empire 8). Nazareth University earned runner-up honors with 78 points, while SUNY Brockport finished third with 84 points and Houghton University placed fourth with 100 points. Utica University and St. John Fisher University rounded out the top half of the team standings for the race.
Reback, who was runner-up at the 2025 E8 Championships and 12th at the 2025 NCAA Niagara Region Championships, used a tremendous late brush to rally from eighth at the halfway mark five seconds of teammate Alexa Kosier, who recorded a time of 21:55.5. Shelby Boise, Greylynn Guyer and Annabelle Czekanski of Geneseo all crossed the line together, separated by less than a half second, as Boise went in 22:02.4. Ella Grinell, Kaitlyn Hotaling and Camryn Szokoli rounded out the top-eight for Geneseo.
Ethne Degan of SUNY Brockport placed ninth overall to earn All-E8 first team honors in 22:22.0, while Marlo Townsend of Utica University, who was the race leader at the halfway mark, placed 11th.
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 Saturday, November 14 at the NCAA Atlantic Region Championships from the SUNY Fredonia Campus Course in Fredonia, NY, hosted by SUNY Fredonia.
2026 Empire 8 Women's Cross Country Championship Results
SUNY Geneseo – 15 Points (Team Champion)
Nazareth – 78
SUNY Brockport – 84
Houghton – 100
Utica – 117
St. John Fisher – 143
Alfred – 213
Hartwick – 250
Russell Sage – 287
Keuka – 305
SUNY Poly – 329
2026 Empire 8 Women's Cross Country Individual Champion/Most Outstanding Runner
Ari Reback, Jr., SUNY Geneseo – 21:50.1
2026 Empire 8 Women's Cross Country Torchbearer Award Winner
Kelsey Fahy, Sr., Nazareth – 4.0 GPA (Sociology, Psychology and Religious Studies major)