AMHERST, N.Y. - Daemen College women's cross country star Hannah Rice (East Aurora, N.Y./East Aurora) has been named the East Coast Conference Runner of the Week for competitions held from August 31 through September 7.

Rice, a 5-foot-5 junior, came through with the first race victory of her career last Saturday (September 5), topping the 28-entrant field at the Le Moyne Alumni Short Course Invitational in Syracuse, N.Y.  Rice completed the short 4,000-meter course in 16:39.87, besting second-place finisher and Wildcat teammate Mackenzie Donahue (East Aurora, N.Y./East Aurora) who came in with a time of 16:56.63.

Rice's performance helped Daemen sit atop the team standings with 28 points, resting comfortably ahead of second-place Le Moyne College (42 points).

For Rice, it was her fifth top-10 finish in 12 career races.  Her previous career-best finish was a fifth-place showing at the same event last season.  She also becomes the first female runner for Daemen to earn ECC Runner of the Week honors since the Wildcats joined the league back in 2013.

Rice and the Wildcats return to racing at the Rochester Yellowjacket Invitational on Saturday, September 19.

For continuing coverage on the Daemen women's cross country team throughout the season, follow@DaemenAthletics and @DaemenXC on Twitter.