The #5 ranked New York University men's cross country team competed in the 44th Mike Woods Geneseo XC Invitational hosted by SUNY Geneseo in Castile, NY, on Friday, October 16. 

Running an 8k course, the team had a strong finish in third place, with runners taking 5th, 12th, 14th, 18th, and 19th place individually. The Violets finished only behind host SUNY Geneseo (55 points) and RPI (60 points) with 68 points, competing against 19 teams.

Edomias Mulugeta was NYU's leading runner, finishing fifth with a time of 25:17.8.

"The men ran tough against some of the very best teams in the country," said Associate Head Coach Nic Jacobsen. "Eddy Mulugeta had the best race of his college career and was a standout performer."

He was followed by Huckleberry Oakes (12th) and Tripp Roemer (14th), who concluded their races with times of 25:31.6 and 25:36.7, respectively. Jordan Pearlman and Alex Hrycyszyn finished back-to-back as the final scorers for the team; the former at 18th with a time of 25:40.4 and the latter at 19th (25:42.7).

The Violets were also represented by Sebastian Taylor (22nd), Liam Hagerty (26th), Trey Davidson (41st), James Jenkins (46th), and Luke Munoz (60th), with all athletes finishing the race in the top 60.

Overall, 191 athletes competed in the race.

"We will look to improve our pack heading into the UAA Championship," Jacobsen added.

Up next, other members of the team are headed to the Rowan Border Battle, hosted by Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ. The event is set to take place on Saturday, October 17.