SYRACUSE, N.Y.- Braving harsh, wintry conditions, the Daemen College Wildcats women's cross country team left the United States Collegiate Athletic Association National Championships with first place, thanks to strong races by freshman Mackenzie Donahue (East Aurora, N.Y./East Aurora) and Hannah Rice (East Aurora, N.Y./East Aurora) , and sophomore Jordan Weir (Cato N.Y./Cato-Meridian).

Donahue finished second out of a field of 146 with a time of 23 minutes, 30 seconds; only 22.4 seconds off of the first-place time of Cleary University's Elaine Lowe (23:07.6). Rice snagged fifth place with a time of 24:40.5, while Weir rounded out Daemen's trio of top-ten finishes with a time of 25:04.7, seventh best in the field.

Rounding out the Wildcats' top-five were junior Noelle Thompson (Vestal, N.Y./Vestal) and sophomore Brooke Nolan (Depew, N.Y./Depew), who posted times of 26:23.4 and 26:27.8, respectively. Thompson finished 17^th, while Nolan was 20^th.

To determine a champion, a school's top five finishers places (first, fifth, eighth, etc.) are totaled for a team score. The school with the lowest total score is the winner. With finishes of second, fifth, seventh, 17^th and 20^th, Daemen had a total team score of 51. The second-place team (and championship host), SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry, finished 38 points off Daemen's mark with a total of 89.

In addition to the cold, windy conditions the competitors faced at Syracuse's Drumlin Country Club, there was another element of difficulty: an extra kilometer. Most cross-country races are five kilometers, the national championships were six. However, not even that would stop Daemen from becoming national champions.

"Our top five truly ran an exceptional race today," Wildcats head coach Jessica Gorski said. "I couldn't be happier with today's results of a national championship and three All-Americans, (and I) look forward to a very bright future with these ladies."

The Wildcats' cross-country future is indeed bright, as their All-American top three (Donahue, Rice and Weir) will be together for at least the next two years, as freshmen Donahue and Rice still have three more years of eligibility, while Weir, as a sophomore, has another two.