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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
3/1/2014 Toria Williams Women's Track & Field
2/1/2014 Raeann Stilwell Women's Basketball
2/1/2014 Gerald Beverly Men's Basketball
1/1/2014 Lindsay Stoddard Women's Basketball
1/1/2014 Uchechi Ogbonna Men's Basketball
12/2/2013 Uchechi Ogbonna Men's Basketball
12/2/2013 Brittany Anthon Women's Volleyball
11/5/2013 Kaley Vazquez Women's Volleyball
11/5/2013 Matt Cregan Men's Cross Country
10/1/2013 Mackenzie Donahue Women's Cross Country
10/1/2013 Alex Reid Men's Soccer
5/1/2013 Ashley Pinette Women's Track & Field
5/1/2013 Kyle Harman Men's Golf
4/1/2013 Sam Rugg Men's Track & Field
4/1/2013 Shaylah Iverson Women's Tennis
3/1/2013 Casey Sheehan Men's Basketball
3/1/2013 Monica Kosior Women's Basketball
1/31/2013 Monica Kosior Women's Basketball
1/31/2013 Jim Regan Men's Basketball
1/1/2013 Casey Sheehan Men's Basketball
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