ROCHESTER, NY – The Alfred University women's cross country team finished eighth out of the nine teams competing in the 2025 Empire 8 Cross Country Championships hosted by St. John Fisher University on Saturday morning.
 
The Saxons scored 224 points, just 10 away from tying Hartwick and well ahead of Keuka College who scored 294 points.
 
"A quote we've been saying for a couple of years now is 'You don't need a perfect day to do great things' and that was very evident today," Head Coach Matt Phillips '10 said. "It was a tough course due to all the turns and constant changes in elevation. These disruptions can really mess with your mentality as it's so hard to get into your stride and find your pace throughout the race. Our team did a great job of using each other while they were out on the course. They were able to work together and push through to some very good results. A shoutout to Fin [Dean] who earned an All-E8 award. We haven't had a male athlete achieve this honor since 2017."
 
Vladyslava Makarenko (Berdychiv, Ukraine/Lyceum 23) led the way with a time of 26:14.1 in 53^rd place, scoring 40 team points. She climbed 11 places in the final moments of the race. Sydney Ribble (Addison, NY/Addison) followed in 68^th place with a time of 27:03.1 while Alivia Kocan (Hornell, NY/Arkport Central) was close behind with a time of 27:31.1 in 77^th place.
 
Rain Newton (Phelps, NY/Midlakes) and Mahina Elchibekova (Ishkoshim, Tajikistan/I.Ismailov School #21/Middlebury Union) rounded out the scoring runners for the Saxons. Newton clocked a time of 28:13.3 for 80^th place and Elchibekova ran a 28:19.3 for 81^st.
 
The next scheduled meet is the 2025 NCAA Regional Championships, hosted by RIT on Saturday, November 15 at 11:00am.