Head coach Paul Lagno is looking for returning runners like Joseph Tracy to step up into bigger roles this season

Men's Cross Country 8/23/2016 3:19:00 PM

Men's Cross Country Picked Fifth In ECC Preseason Poll

2016 ECC MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY PRESEASON POLL
Rank	School	Pts.	2015 ECC Championship Finish
1	Roberts Wesleyan (7)	63	1st of 9
2	Molloy	46	2nd of 9
3	St. Thomas Aquinas (1)	44	5th of 9
4	LIU Post	43	3rd of 9
5	DAEMEN	36	4TH OF 9
6	NYIT	26	6th of 9
T-7	Bridgeport	15	8th of 9
T-7	Queens	15	7th of 9
( ) - first place votes

AMHERST, N.Y. - The Daemen College men's cross country team has been picked to finish fifth in the East Coast Conference this year, according to the ECC preseason poll which was released today from conference headquarters in Central Islip, N.Y. following a vote of the league's eight head coaches.

Daemen, which finished fourth at last season's ECC Championship, picked up 36 points in the poll voting, sitting just behind the group of Molloy College (46 points), Saint Thomas Aquinas College (44 points) and Long Island University Post (43 points) which were separated by just three points for poll positions two through four. The fifth-place vote matches Daemen's highest ascent in the preseason poll since joining the league in 2013; the Wildcats were also picked fifth in the 2014 ECC preseason poll.

"There's no question we're going to need some guys to step up and fill bigger roles this season. We lost three runners who scored for us in last year's conference championship meet, so there should be some healthy competition amongst the team early in the season," said second-year head coach Paul Lagno, referencing the graduation of Jeremy Rushok, among others, who finished as Daemen's top scorer in the final 11 races of his career. "I think we have some guys who are really poised to have breakout seasons, which hopefully can put us in contention near the top of the league."

Roberts Wesleyan College, which has won the last two ECC crowns, topped the voting with 63 points to sit comfortably ahead of the second-place Spartans. RWC's vote total included seven of the eight first-place votes, as the Redhawks return fourtof the top-18 finishers from last fall's conference championship meet.

Following the logjam up front and Daemen at No. 5, N.Y. Institute of Technology (26 points), University of Bridgeport (15 points) and Queens College (15 points) rounded out the poll.

In addition to releasing the preseason poll, the conference office also announced that RWC's Aaron Bellomo has been tabbed the ECC Preseason Runner of the Year. Bellomo was a first-team All-ECC performer last season after finishing fourth at the conference championship meet.

Leading the returners for Lagno's squad will undoubtedly be junior Kevin Roginson (Amherst, N.Y./Williamsville North) who emerged as a viable team leader last season, coming in behind Rushok as Daemen's second finisher in the final six competitions of the season. That stretch included his career-best 8K time of 26:25.23 at the ECC Championship meet where he finished ninth to earn second-team All-ECC honors. Beyond Roginson, the Wildcats' 2016 roster features seniors Mike Capestrani (Jamestown, N.Y./Jamestown), Nigel Cordulla (Cheektowaga, N.Y./John F. Kennedy) and Matt VanDeMortel (Geneva, N.Y./Geneva), as well as sophomore Joseph Tracy (Malone, N.Y./Franklin Acad.) who was the team's fourth finisher at last year's conference championship meet.

Daemen opens its 2016 season on September 3 at the Le Moyne Short Course Invitational, marking the third straight season in which the event has served as the Wildcats' season opener. The ECC Championship is slated for October 22 on the campus of Roberts Wesleyan in Rochester.

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

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Players Mentioned

Jeremy Rushok: 6' 0"; Senior

Mike Capestrani: 6' 1"; Senior

Nigel Cordulla: 5' 9"; Senior

Kevin Roginson: 5' 10"; Junior

Joseph Tracy: 5' 10"; Sophomore

Matt VanDeMortel: 5' 10"; Senior

Players Mentioned

Jeremy Rushok
: 6' 0"; Senior

Mike Capestrani
: 6' 1"; Senior

Nigel Cordulla
: 5' 9"; Senior

Kevin Roginson
: 5' 10"; Junior

Joseph Tracy
: 5' 10"; Sophomore

Matt VanDeMortel
: 5' 10"; Senior