SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Daemen College women's cross country team opened the 2016 season here this afternoon by repeating at team champions at the Le Moyne Alumni Short Course Invitational. Daemen, which is ranked third in the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) preseason regional rankings, placed five runners among the top-seven finishers at the 4,000-meter event . The Wildcats posted 22 points, 11 better than second-place Le Moyne College (33). Wells College (89) and Onondaga Community College (109) rounded out the four-team field.

Daemen junior Amy Trabert (Amherst, N.Y./Amherst) paced the field of 50 runners with a course-record time of 16:20.51. She knocked 43 seconds off her fourth-place time of last year and registered her first career first-place finish. Trabert finished eight seconds faster than runner-up Jeanette Cudney of Le Moyne College.

Daemen standout Hannah Rice (East Aurora, N.Y./East Aurora), who won this event last year with a then course-record time of 16:39.87, placed third this year with a time of 16:30.18. Le Moyne's Brittney Mack placed fourth (16:37.21), while Daemen's Rebekah Zee (East Aurora, N.Y./Slippery Rock University) rounded out the top-five with a time of 17:24.09.

The Wildcats also got top-10 showings today from senior Brittany Denton (Oakfield, N.Y./Oakfield-Alabama) and junior college transfer Leana Wiebelt (East Setauket, N.Y./Suffolk CC). Denton took nearly a minute off her time of last year and placed sixth with a time of 17:25.99. Wiebelt turned in a solid effort in her first race in the Daemen Blue and White and placed seventh with a time of 17:31.85.

Senior Morgan Urbanek (Webster, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) and freshman Shania LiVecchi (West Seneca, N.Y./West Seneca West) both recorded top-20 efforts for Daemen, but did not factor in the team scoring. Urbanek placed 12th (18:11.69), while LiVecchi finished 18th (18:32.99) in her first collegiate race.

Daemen is off for two weeks and returns to action Sept. 17 when it takes part in the Rochester Yellow Jacket Invitational hosted by the University of Rochester.

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