HOUGHTON, NY – The Alfred University men's cross country team finished fifth out of nine teams during the Empire 8 Championships hosted by Houghton University on Saturday.
 
The Saxons scored 145 team points and bested Keuka College in sixth place with 190 points and Medaille University with 209 points. Russell Sage College and Hartwick College were both incomplete teams that could not score in the listings.
 
AU was led by Max Rasilla (Moraga, CA/Midland) as he scored 27^th (45^th overall) with a time of 29:17.3. Four of the five first finishers for the Saxons all had constant advancements throughout 8k field as Rasilla started off at 51^st place and constantly moved up the 77-runner pack. AU took the 28^th, 29^th, 30^th and 31^st scoring places to secure the fifth place finish.
 
George Mecca (Derby, NY/Eden) ran a 29:34.8 behind Rasilla. Following Mecca was Yuner Sesmas (Apollo, PA/Kiski Area), Finnegan Dean (Potsdam, NY/Potsdam Central) and Kevin Flint (Caledonia, NY/Caledonia-Mumford) with times of 29:36.9, 29:40.4 and 29:56.1, respectively all under the 30-minute mark.
 
The Saxons will next head to University of Rochester for the NCAA Atlantic Regional Championships on Saturday, November 12.