Triathlon & Track Programs Ink Highly Sought After Recruit

Lew-Port's Amber Custodi Signs On To Join Both Wildcat Programs

AMHERST, N.Y. - Jon Metz, head women's triathlon coach at Daemen College, and Paul Lagno, head men's and women's track and field coach, jointly announced today the signing of Amber Custodi (Ransomville, N.Y./Lewiston-Porter) to a National Letter of Intent. Custodi will compete in both triathlon and track and field at Daemen, and she becomes the first recruited student-athlete to sign on and join the Wildcat triathlon program which is currently wrapping up its inaugural season.

"Amber is a strong athlete that will add a lot of talen to the team, pushing our level of competition to new heights," Metz said. "I am incredibly excited that she's decided to join us as the program's first-ever signee."

Lagno concurred with Metz's assessment, saying, "Amber will join us after a highly decorated scholastic career, and I'm happy that she'll be able to compete in both sports. Any time you can add a versatile athlete like Amber, it's a great situation for us."

Custodi comes to Daemen from Lewiston-Porter High School where she's earned a total of 12 varsity letters in four different sports, including a combined eight in the sports of cross country and track and field. She's been an all-league competitor in both sports, and helped the Lancers capture the Niagara Frontier League (NFL) championship for track and field as a junior. This past fall, Custodi set multiple course records during the cross country season and ultimately finished as the runner-up at the Section VI Class B championship meet.

In track and field, Custodi specializes in middle and long distance races, as well as the steeplechase, an event in which she won an individual NFL championship in as a sophomore. She'll only bolster that area for Daemen which is already a strength of the team, and will follow in the footsteps of Ashley Cheff (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Niagara Falls) and Anna Lyons (Webster, N.Y./Webster Thomas) who each compete for both the track and field and triathlon teams presently.

The sport of triathlon combines the skills of running, swimming and biking into a sprint-style race. The women's triathlon team at Daemen has been bolstered by a $70,000 grant from USA Triathlon to aide in the initial establishment of the program. USA Triathlon is the governing body for the sport, and has been the driving force behind the expansion of the sport into the intercollegiate ranks, leading to the sport gaining approval as an NCAA Emerging Sport for Women at the NCAA Convention in January of 2014. At present, Daemen is one of a handful of colleges and universities nationwide to sponsor the sport for intercollegiate competition.

A High Honor Roll student and National Honor Society member, Custodi plans to major in Physical Therapy at Daemen.

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Players Mentioned

Ashley Cheff: 5' 3"; Junior

Anna Lyons: 5' 8"; Graduate Student

Players Mentioned

Ashley Cheff
: 5' 3"; Junior

Anna Lyons
: 5' 8"; Graduate Student