The Oswego State men’s and women’s cross country teams travelled to the Flower City last weekend to compete in the annual University of Rochester Invitational, hosted at Genesee Valley Park. The women put on an impressive showing and rounded out the top ten, while the men finished in the bottom 20s.

In the women’s 6K, Elena Gaffney and Kyra Pellegrino both turned in excellent times to finish within the top five of a race that contained upwards of 250 participants. Gaffney set a new Laker program record in the event with a time of 22:15.4, which placed her fourth overall, while Pellegrino trailed very closely behind and finished fifth with a time of 22:19.4.

The Lakers received help from Hannah Reichard, who finalized a time of 23:23.4, while Grace Stevens and Julia Weaver finished in 28:56.3 and 30:13.5, respectively. Julay Mustafa, put a time of 31:24.6 on the board, followed by Sophia Shatynski in 32:13.2, Alannah Edwards in 32:26.4 and Korey Lesko in 32:26.3.

The paced efforts culminated to 322 points for the Lakers, which cemented them at the 10th spot – right behind ninth-place, Oberlin College, with 308 points and eighth-place, SUNY Oneonta, with 219. SUNY Geneseo laid claim to a victory as they came in first place with 39 points, which was spearheaded by a strong individual performance from Ann Brennan, who finished second overall in 21:59.4. Alexa Briggs of Niagara finished first, in 21:57.2; but as a team, the Purple Eagles would find themselves in seventh place.

The men’s 8k race was won by Rochester’s own, Scott Sikorski, as the UofR alumnus clocked a time of 25:11.5. Senior, Derick Koen of RIT, finished as runner-up with a time of 25:17.2, while James Catania of Rochester followed closely with a time of 25:19.9. Geneseo teammates, Collin Brown and Ian Zehnder, rounded out the top five as the two finished in 25:20.8 and 25:21.3, respectively.

Thomas (TJ) Bowes was the first Laker to finish, crossing the line in 28:41.6. Jeffrey Simmons came in next at 30:01.6, followed by Miles Thompson in 31:04.3 and JT Goss in 31:38.9. Evan Young placed just behind at 32:46.1, with Neil Graber at 33:22.3, Elijah LaNigra at 34:24.6, Hector Cuellar at 37:18.1 and Anthony Serrano ran 40:42.7. As a team, the Lakers placed 22nd overall. SUNY Geneseo dominated once again, taking first with 61 points, while RIT followed with 68 and host Rochester secured third with 85.

Gaffney took home SUNYAC Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Week on Monday for the second time this season. Gaffney stamped herself in the record books as her 6k time of 22:15.4 in the UofR invitational sets a new historical mark for the Lakers. Furthermore, she was the third overall Div. III runner and the first SUNYAC athlete to cross the line.

The Lakers head to Houghton, N.Y., on Oct. 11 for the Houghton University Invitational.