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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
5/6/2015 Toria Williams Women's Track & Field
5/6/2015 Robert Ralyea Men's Track & Field
4/10/2015 Gerald Beverly Men's Basketball
4/10/2015 Shy Britton Women's Basketball
3/10/2015 Jordan Greene Men's Basketball
3/10/2015 Raeann Stilwell Women's Basketball
2/4/2015 Sarah Saba Women's Basketball
2/4/2015 Torrence Dyck Men's Basketball
1/4/2015 Raeann Stilwell Women's Basketball
1/4/2015 Supreme Hannah Men's Basketball
12/2/2014 Gerald Beverly Men's Basketball
12/2/2014 Juli Prentice Women's Soccer
11/5/2014 Maria McGrath Women's Tennis
11/5/2014 Jeremy Rushok Men's Cross Country
10/2/2014 Mackenzie Donahue Women's Cross Country
10/2/2014 Cole Beale Men's Soccer
5/1/2014 Kathryn Gross Women's Track & Field
5/1/2014 Niko Jemmison Men's Track & Field
4/2/2014 Gregory Lowe Men's Tennis
3/1/2014 Kadeem Johnson Men's Basketball
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