GETTYSBURG, PA – The Alfred University men's cross country team finished 31^st out of the 44 teams racing in the Aubrey Shenk Invitational hosted by Gettysburg College on Saturday morning.

The Saxons were led by Jacob Taylor (Cohocton, NY/Avoca) who finished the 8k race with a time of 27:04.9 to score 127 team points and finishing 152^nd overall. Seth Stevens (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) was close behind with a time of 27:16.4 to score 137 team points. Celton Dupuis (Port Kent, NY/ AuSable Valley Central) closed out the top three finishers with a time of 27:52.1.

"The men today were very impressive," Head Coach Matt Phillips '10 said. "They had a total team time of over four minutes faster, with their average time being 48 seconds faster than 2025. The spread for the Top-5 was 34 seconds smaller, with today's at two minutes and 17 seconds. This is fantastic! With two weeks until E8s, a sub-2 minute spread is certainly achievable, and that will help in a championship race."

Evan Foran (Vestal, NY/Vestal) was the next Saxon to cross the finish line, completing the race in 28:54.7. Both Damian Brown (Homer, NY/Homer) and Ben Klee (Elmira, NY/Elmira) finished in under 30 minutes, clocking in times of 29:21.9 and 29:36.4, respectively.

"We're very excited by the progression both teams have shown over the last two months," Assistant Head Coach Gabriel Trimbur said. "Today's performances are a direct result of how intentional this group has been with their training and approach to racing. There's a lot to celebrate and still plenty of work to be done as we look to the rest of the season!"

Saturday's race was the final tune-up before the Saxons turn their sights towards the Empire 8 Championships, hosted by SUNY Poly on Saturday, October 31 at 12:00pm.