Rio Grande, Ohio – UPIKE cross country opened the 2022 fall campaign on Saturday, competing in the Patty Forgey Invitational hosted by Rio Grande. Several Bears made their collegiate debut as the both the men's and women's teams finished second.

Led by Niles McCoy, the men's team fielded seven runners in the event. McCoy finished with a time of 32:15.14, nabbing eighth of 19 runners. Colin Howell finished just behind McCoy with a time of 32:52.51. In 10^th was junior Haden Harper with a time of 32:54.92 while Lucas Ison and Cade Watson finished 11^th and 12^th, respectively.

Syrus Ramsey finished 16^th overall with a time of 40:51.70 and Zachary Neace was close behind at 43:52.52.

Rio Grande took the top spot as a team, placing the top three individuals. Wilberforce finished third overall with a total of 74 points.

On the women's side it was Madelyn Sohns and Kylee Hamilton who led the Bears with top-10 finishes. Sohns ran a time of 25:38.28 which earned her seventh overall, trumping Rio's eighth place runner by just over 30 seconds. Hamilton carded a time of 31:17.31 for ninth overall. Newcomer Alexa Muha had a finishing time of 33:05.68, while Amber Moore finished 14^th with a time of 37:52.97.

Miracle Taylor and Verlecia Scarlett, who are also women's track and field athletes, finished 16^th and 17^th, respectively.

The Bears return to action Friday, October 14^th at the Wilmington Invitational in Wilmington, Ohio.