SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The Daemen University men's cross country team placed all of their top-five runners in the top-10 to race to a first place finish at the season opening Frank Dillon Memorial Invitational on Saturday morning on the campus of Le Moyne.
FULL RESULTS
Senior
Connor O'Brien (Hamburg, N.Y.) paced the Cats, finishing third overall in the field of 79 runners with a PR time of 20:24.8 over the 6K race. 2023 East Coast Conference Preseason Runner of the Year senior
Jon Moote (Wilson, N.Y.) crossed the finish line right behind O'Brien with a 6K PR time of 20:32.8 for a fourth-place finish.
Freshman
CJ Johnson (Baltimore, Md.) made a tremendous Daemen debut today, placing sixth with a time of 20:46.1. Fellow freshman
Ethan Keating (Wooster, Ohio) finished eighth overall with a time of 21:04.7 in his first collegiate race, two seconds ahead of the 2022 ECC Rookie of the Year
Aidan Kincaid (Orchard Park, N.Y.), who placed ninth overall (21:06.7) in his first 6K race.
Seven schools participated in the Frank Dillon Memorial Invitational today. Daemen topped the field with a team score of 30. Host Le Moyne (41) had the top finisher in Matthew Bartolotta with a time of 20:06.5 this morning, and helped the Dolphins to a second place team finish. SUNY-ESF (87) finished third, while Oswego State (115), SUNY Delhi (127), Morrissville State (128) and Onondaga Community College (214) rounded out the teams.
The Wildcats have the week off next weekend, but returns to the course to host the Daemen Alumni Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 16 at Williamsville's Bassett Park.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Daemen had a total of 15 runners compete today.
- O'Brien set a 6K PR with his third-place finish of 20:24.8 today, shaving over a minute off his previous personal-best of 21:46.4, set at the 2022 Frank Dillon Memorial Invitational. He finished first on the team for the first time since the 2021 ECC Championships.
- Daemen's top runner in all seven meets in 2022, Moote shaved 40 seconds off his 6K PR (21:12.3) set at the 2022 Frank Dillon Memorial Invitational.
- Senior Phil Ceccarelli (Hamburg, N.Y.) posted a 13th-place finish with a time of 21:36.9.
- Running his first collegiate 6K, sophomore Josh Trometer (Lancaster, N.Y.) finished 20th overall with a time of 22:11.3 to round out Daemen's top seven.
- Senior Steven Blatto (Lancaster, N.Y.) posted a time of 22:27.0 to place 27th. Freshman Matt Strasser (Alden, N.Y.) finished three seconds behind Blatto with a time of 22:30.4 to finish 28th in his Daemen debut.
- Senior David Schwinger (Buffalo, N.Y.) finished 31st with a time of 22.51.0, just half a second ahead of junior John Balch (Saranac, N.Y.), who crossed the finish line 32nd at 22:51.5.
- Freshman Brad Tobin (Hamburg, N.Y.) posted a 36th-place time of 23:01.6 in his first collegiate race.
- A trio of Wildcats crossed the line together, with senior Laertes Cushing (Alfred, N.Y.) coming in 42nd overall at 23:29.4, freshman John Stopera (Rome, N.Y.) finishing 23:34.7 at 43, and junior Nolan Robillard (Hamburg, N.Y.) finishing 44th at 23:38.1.
- Graduate student Alexander Reynolds (Olean, N.Y.) set a PR 6K time of 24:27.5 with his 52nd place finish to round out the Wildcats on the course today.
Daemen University features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 intercollegiate teams. For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, or sign up to receive customizable news alerts, e-mail newsletters and weekly schedule alerts.
Follow the Daemen University cross country/track and field program on Twitter and Instagram at @DaemenXCTF.
