AMHERST, N.Y. - The Daemen College women's cross country team is the third-ranked team in the East Region according to the latest
U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division II Regional Rankings released today.
Daemen, which debuted in the poll at No. 6 on
September 29, has been ranked ever since (
October 6 poll;
October 13 poll) and today's ranking represents the Wildcats' highest ascent into the rankings to date. Â It comes on the heels of a
strong performance at the East Coast Conference Championships held last Saturday, October 24 on the campus of Long Island University Post.
At the conference championship meet, racing without bonafide star
Hannah Rice (East Aurora, N.Y./East Aurora) who was out with an injury, Daemen narrowly missed winning its first-ever ECC championship, finishing two points back of Roberts Wesleyan College who captured their second-straight title. Â RWC is the No. 2 ranked team in the region again this week, behind Stonehill College of the Northeast-10 Conference. Â SC and RWC have been ranked one-two in every version of the Regional Rankings this season.
Daemen was paced at the ECC Championships by junior
Mackenzie Donahue (East Aurora, N.Y./East Aurora). Â Donahue shattered her own school-record time for the 5K distance, completing the course in 17:44.31, some 35 seconds better than the previous mark that she set at the Harry F. Anderson Invitational on September 26 earlier this season. Â Donahue finished as the race runner-up, earning first-team All-ECC honors in the process.
Daemen also got personal-best times from sophomore
Amy Trabert (Amherst, N.Y./Amherst) and junior
Brittany Denton (Oakfield, N.Y./Oakfield-Alabama) who each earned second-team All-ECC honors for their performances. Â Trabert (18:40.02) finished eighth overall while Denton (18:58.97) came in 12th place.
Daemen is one of three ECC teams ranked in this week's poll, joining RWC and No. 4 Saint Thomas Aquinas College.
USTFCCCA Regional Cross Country Rankings are determined subjectively by a single member foach in each respective region. Â The NCAA Division II East Region is comprised of teams from the East Coast Conference, Northeast-10 Conference and Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference.
Daemen's 2015 season continues with the NCAA Division II East Region Championships on Sunday, November 8 in Hopkinton, N.H.
