Senior Mackenzie Donahue concluded her sensational collegiate cross country career with her 19th top-10 finish

Women's Cross Country 11/5/2016 3:05:00 PM Mike Miranto, Associate A.D. For Communications

Wildcats Finish Fourth At Regional Championship Meet For Second Straight Year

Fourth-Place Showing Leaves Daemen One Spot Back Of National Championship Bid

HOPKINTON, N.H. - For the second straight season, the Daemen College women's cross country team finished one spot out of contention for a bid to the NCAA Division II National Championships, coming in fourth place out of 28 competing teams at the 2016 NCAA Division II East Region Championship meet held today at the Hopkinton Fairgrounds. The 6K race is held to determine the region's three national championship-qualifying teams, as well as three national championship-qualifying individuals. The East Region of NCAA Division II is comprised of teams affiliated with the East Coast Conference, the Northeast-10 Conference and the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference.

Stonehill College, the top-ranked team in every regional ranking that was released this season, completed its quest for a seventh regional title in the last eight years. The Skyhawks, an NE-10 affiliate, dominated the field by placing its five scorers in the top-16 finishers, as well as two additional non-scorers in the top-20, accumulating just 48 points in the team standings. That group included race-winner Nicole Borofski (Plymouth, Mass.) who paced for the field of 191 runners for the second straight year with a time of 20:57.5.

Fellow NE-10 member Assumption College and ECC champion Roberts Wesleyan College finished second and third, respectively, to earn the two remaining team bids to the 2016 NCAA Division II National Championships which are set for November 19 in St. Leo, Fla.

The top-three individuals from non-qualifying teams also earned their way to the national meet. Those bids went to Pascaline Jerotich (Eldoret, Kenya) of American International College, the 2016 ECC individual champion Talya Williams (Schenectady, N.Y.) of Long Island University Post and Natasha Fitzpatrick (West Moonah, Australia) of Southern Connecticut State University. The trio finished second, fourth and fifth respectively.

Daemen was led today by senior Mackenzie Donahue (East Aurora, N.Y./East Aurora) who finished 10th with a time of 22:08.8. Donahue, who became Daemen's first-ever NCAA Division II National Championships qualifier last season by finishing third at this event, ended her stellar career today with the 19th top-10 finish of her career (in 25 career races). It also marked the 22nd time in her career that she's come in as Daemen's top finisher. For her efforts, she earns All-East Region honors which go to the top-25 finishers in today's race.

Amy Trabert (Amherst, N.Y./Amherst) wrapped up a solid junior season by finishing 30th today with a time of 23:04.3, while seniors Hannah Rice (East Aurora, N.Y./East Aurora) and Ashley Cheff (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Niagara Falls), and redshirt-sophomore Rebekah Zee (East Aurora, N.Y./Slippery Rock University) rounded out the Wildcats' scorers. Rice crossed the finish line in 23:25.5 to come in 42nd place. Cheff was right behind her in 43rd place with a time of 23:27.3, and Zee was next at 44th place with a time of 23:29.2.

Seniors Brittany Denton (Oakfield, N.Y./Oakfield-Alabama) and Morgan Urbanek (Webster, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) also competed for the final time in their careers today. Denton finished 79th with a time of 24:11.9 and Urbanek came in 87th with a time of 24:22.5.

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

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Players Mentioned

Brittany Denton: 5' 3"; Senior

Mackenzie Donahue: 5' 2"; Senior

Hannah Rice: 5' 5"; Senior

Amy Trabert: 5' 3"; Junior

Morgan Urbanek: 5' 2"; Senior

Ashley Cheff: 5' 1"; Senior

Rebekah Zee: 5' 5"; Redshirt Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Brittany Denton
: 5' 3"; Senior

Mackenzie Donahue
: 5' 2"; Senior

Hannah Rice
: 5' 5"; Senior

Amy Trabert
: 5' 3"; Junior

Morgan Urbanek
: 5' 2"; Senior

Ashley Cheff
: 5' 1"; Senior

Rebekah Zee
: 5' 5"; Redshirt Sophomore