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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement

Athlete Awards

Athletes of the Month

Arif Mehmetaj

  • Award
    Athletes of the Month
  • Week Of
    12/9/2015
  • Sport
    Men's Basketball
  • Bio
    View Full Bio
AMHERST, N.Y. - Arif Mehmetaj (Jamaica, N.Y./SUNY Delhi) and Mackenzie Donahue (East Aurora, N.Y./East Aurora) have been named the Daemen College Student-Athletes of the Month for November, 2015.

Mehmetaj, a 6-foot-7 redshirt-junior forward on the men's basketball team, made his return to the lineup last month after having his 2014-15 season cut short by an injury.  For the month, Mehmetaj appeared in and started all three of the team's games, averaging 18.7 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game.

Mehmetaj opened the season with back-to-back monster games as Daemen hosted the ECC-CACC Challenge on November 13 and 14.  In the team's opener versus Wilmington University, Mehmetaj put up 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including 4-of-8 from three-point range, and added seven boards and three steals.  He followed that up with career-highs of 24 points and 17 rebounds in a loss to regionally-ranked Holy Family University the following day.  For his efforts, Mehmetaj was named the event's all-tournament team, and also garned ECC Player of the Week honors.

Mehmetaj would go on to lead the team in scoring for the second-straight outing, scoring 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting versus Mercyhurst University on November 24.

Donahue, a 5-foot-2 junior runner on the cross country team, made history last month as she became the first Daemen athlete in any sport to qualify and compete in a national championship event at the NCAA Division II level.  She opened the month by competing in the NCAA Division II East Region Championships in Hopkinton, N.H. on November 8, breaking her own school record for a 6K race to finish in third place out of 186 competitors.  Donahue's time of 21:42.46 was more than 30 seconds better than her previous school-record time (22:14.5) which was set earlier this season, and it was the fourth time this season that Donahue eclipsed a previous team benchmark.  

Donahue's finish at the regional competition earned her the right to compete at the NCAA Division II National Championships held in Joplin, Mo. on November 21.  There, Donahue completed the Tom Rutledge Cross Country Course, a winding and hilly 6K jaunt, in 21:55.6 to finish in 69th place out of 247 competitors.


Athlete Awards
Date Athlete Sport
1/3/2019 Nazjahe Boswell Women's Track & Field
1/3/2019 Jeff Redband Men's Basketball
12/3/2018 Allison Post Women's Volleyball
12/3/2018 Andrew Sischo Men's Basketball
11/5/2018 Jamie Boyar Women's Soccer
11/5/2018 Ali Greenwood Women's Volleyball
10/1/2018 Jamie Boyar Women's Soccer
10/1/2018 Mike Swiniarski Men's Cross Country
5/2/2018 Shaquille Corrica Men's Track & Field
5/2/2018 Katja Meyer Women's Track & Field
4/3/2018 Katlyn Newberry Women's Bowling
4/3/2018 Ricardo Ruiz Martinez Men's Tennis
3/2/2018 Andrew Sischo Men's Basketball
3/2/2018 Brittany Denton Women's Track & Field
2/2/2018 Breon Harris Men's Basketball
2/2/2018 Sarah Saba Women's Basketball
1/4/2018 Sarah Saba Women's Basketball
1/4/2018 Andrew Sischo Men's Basketball
12/5/2017 Deion Hamilton Men's Basketball
12/5/2017 Katlyn Newberry Women's Bowling
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