AMHERST, N.Y. -- For the first time in program history, the Daemen University men's and women's cross country teams are both ranked regionally. The women's team is ranked second among 10 teams in the East Region in the
Week Two 2022 NCAA Division II Regional Rankings for the second consecutive week, as released today by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). The East Region consists of the top teams from the East Coast Conference, the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference and the Northeast-10 Conference. The men's team
broke into the regional rankings for the first time since the 2018 season, coming in 10th in the East Region.
Southern New Hampshire topped the women's poll, while Daemen, Roberts Wesleyan, Saint Anselm and Adelphi rounded out the top five in the East Region. Felician comes in sixth, followed by St. Thomas Aquinas, Southern Connecticut (who dropped four places from week 1), Le Moyne and Assumption, who enters the top 10 this week.
In the East Region men's poll, Franklin Pierce leads the way, with Southern Connecticut, Roberts Wesleyan, American International and Southern New Hampshire as the top five. Assumption, Adelphi, Jefferson (PA) and Georgian Court are six through nine, with Daemen coming in at 10.
The Daemen women's team has run in three races this season, and has earned a program-record three consecutive team victories, all in different distances. The Wildcats placed
first out of seven teams at the Frank Dillon Memorial Invitational 4K, placing seven runners in the top-10 including the top four runners. Daemen then took home the team crown at the
Daemen Alumni Invitational 5K, with Daemen sophomore
Marcy Colca (Getzville, N.Y.), graduate student
Kassandra Nolet (Fort Erie, Ont.) and senior
Courtney Merrill (Speedway, Ind.) coming in as the top three finishers in the race. Over the weekend, the Wildcats
won the Equality Invitational, the first collegiate cross country race in which both the men and women run the same 8K distance, and for the third straight race, Colca finished first overall, with teammates Nolet placing third, Merrill finishing fourth and freshman
Patsy Oberholzer (Greece, N.Y.) coming in fifth.
The men are ranked in the East Region for the first time since
October 2, 2018 when they spent two weeks at No. 10. This season, the Daemen men's team has put together three consecutive second-place finishes, and the Wildcats have placed multiple runners in the top-10 each time. Junior
Jon Moote (Wilson, N.Y.) has led the Wildcats in each of the meets, finishing fourth overall in the
Frank Dillon Invitational 6K, 10 seconds ahead of teammate
Phil Ceccarelli (Hamburg, N.Y.) who finished in sixth place. Moote,
Connor O'Brien (Hamburg, N.Y.) and Ceccarelli placed third, sixth and 10th respectively in the
Daemen Alumni Invitational. On Sunday at the
Equality Invitational, Moote finished first overall for just the second time in his career, with O'Brien and Ceccarelli placing sixth and eighth in the race.
Wildcat runners have been honored in the
ECC weekly awards for the last three weeks. Colca has won three consecutive Women's Runner of the Week honors, making her the first Daemen runner in program history to earn three straight conference runner of the week awards. Oberholzer ties Mackenzie Donahue (2031) as the only Daemen runner to win three consecutive Women's Rookie of the Week honors, as she picked up her third nod on Monday. Men's freshman
Aidan Kincaid (Orchard Park, N.Y.) earned his second consecutive Men's Rookie of the Week honors with his personal best performance at the Equality Invitational, making him the first Daemen runner to take home multiple ECC Rookie of the Week honors since Matt Cregan in 2013. Moote earned the first Men's Runner of the Week award this season.
The Wildcats are off this upcoming weekend, but return to action on Saturday, October 8 when they travel to Houghton, N.Y. to run in the Highlander Invitational.
