Daemen University Athletics

AMHERST, N.Y. - Freshman cross country runner Mackenzie Donahue (East Aurora, N.Y./East Aurora) and classmate Alex Reid (Lockport, N.Y./Lockport), a forward on the men's soccer team, have been named the Bedore Tours Student-Athletes of the Month for September.  The two greenhorns have made an immediate impact on their respective teams in just their first month of collegiate competition.

Donahue set new school records in back-to-back competitions, firmly establishing herself as the top runner on coach Jessica Gorski's cross country squad.  

She won the Highlander Invitational, a 5K race hosted by Houghton College on Sept. 21, coming in with her record-setting time of 18:37.03, shattering the previous mark of 18:54.11 set by Amy Farner (Collins, N.Y./Gowanda) at the Saratoga Invitational on Oct. 20, 2007.  Seven days later, she topped her own mark, running the Harry F. Anderson Invitational in 18:29.2 while finishing in fifth place.

She also opened the season with a third-place finish at the Talon Invitational, running the short 3200-meter course in 11:36.0.

For her efforts, Donahue was recognized by both the East Coast Conference and the United States Collegiate Athletic Association.  She has been nnamed the ECC Rookie of the Week for three straight weeks, and was also honored as the USCAA Runner of the Week for Sept. 16-22.

Reid opened his career with an 11-point month, scoring five goals (tied for the team lead), including two game-winners, while notching one assist.

The first goal of his career came in dramatic fashion, scoring 3:22 into the second overtime period (104th minute) to push Daemen past rival Roberts Wesleyan College 3-2 in the team's season-opener, and Reid's collegiate debut, on Sept. 5.

He bookended the month with two tallies in Daemen's 2-0 shutout of the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown on Sept. 29, scoring in thr 56th and 58th minutes - the first multi-goal game of his career - to help the Wildcats secure their third win of the season.

Sandwiched between were single tallies against ECC opponents Queens College (Sept. 21) and Molloy College (Sept. 22).  He also picked up the assist on the game-winning goal scored by senior Kyle Clifford (West Seneca, N.Y./St. Francis) in a 2-1 overtime win vs. Buffalo State College on Sept. 14.