Women's Cross Country 10/12/2016 9:50:00 AM Mike Miranto, Associate A.D. For Communications

Daemen Sits Fourth In Latest East Region Poll

WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY NCAA DIVISION II EAST REGION RANKINGS - WEEK #5
Rank	School	Conference	Last Week
1	Stonehill	Northeast-10	1st
2	Roberts Wesleyan	East Coast	3rd
3	Assumption	Northeast-10	2nd
4	DAEMEN	EAST COAST	4th
5	Bentley	Northeast-10	6th
6	Merrimack	Northeast-10	5th
7	Philadelphia	Central Atlantic Collegiate	7th
8	Le Moyne	Northeast-10	8th
9	St. Rose	Northeast-10	9th
10	Southern New Hampshire	Northeast-10	NR

AMHERST, N.Y. - For the sixth straight week, the Daemen College women's cross country team has been ranked in the top-five of the NCAA Division II East Region according to the latest U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) regional poll which was released yesterday from the USTFCCCA national office in New Orleans, La. Daemen comes in at No. 4 this week, holding steady at that position for the fourth straight week (week No. 2 poll, week No. 3 poll, week No. 4 poll) after opening the season at No. 3 (preseason poll, week No. 1 poll).

Daemen is the second East Coast Conference squad in the rankings, behind rival Roberts Wesleyan College which moved up to No. 2 this week, leap-frogging Northeast-10 Conference affiliate Assumption College who dropped to third. Stonehill College, which has won four of the last five East Region championships, occupies the No. 1 ranking for the sixth straight week.

The only other movement in the poll came with Bentley University leap-frogging Northeast-10 Conference rival Merrimack College for fifth place, and Southern New Hampshire University cracked the rankings for the first time this season, coming in at No. 10.

Daemen returned to racing after a two-week hiatus last Saturday at the Lake Erie Storm Invitational, posting their second straight third-place finish as a team. Senior Mackenzie Donahue (East Aurora, N.Y./East Aurora) and junior Amy Trabert (Amherst, N.Y./Amherst) each posted top-five finishes. The race was originally schedule for 6,000 meters (6k), but a wrong turn by the lead cart resulted in the distance coming in at 4,300 meters.

Daemen totaled 71 points in the team standings, coming in just behind their Walsh University (63) and Wheeling Jesuit University (68), both of which were ranked regionally by U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Walsh was ranked eighth in the Midwest Region, Wheeling Jesuit was eighth in the Atlantic Region at the time of the race.

Donahue finished in 16:33.51 which was good for third place. It marked her second-straight third-place finish and the 17th top-10 finish of her career (in 23 career races). Her performance today also marked the 20th time in her career that she's come in as Daemen's top finisher.

Trabert finished in fifth place with a time of 16:41.24. She has now finished in the top-five in three of Daemen's four races this season, including a first-place effort at the season-opening Le Moyne Alumni Short Course Invitational. Trabert now has six top-10 finishes in her career (out of 17 career races).

Seniors Hannah Rice (East Aurora, N.Y./East Aurora) and Ashley Cheff (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Niagara Falls) and redshirt-sophomore Rebekah Zee (East Aurora, N.Y./Slippery Rock University) rounded out the Wildcat scorers in the race. Rice posted her second-straight top-20 finishing after placing 15th with a time of 17:24.05. The performance marked Rice's 14th top-20 finish in her career (in 20 career races). Cheff made her 2016 debut and also competed in her first cross country race since the 2014 East Coast Conference championship. She placed 22nd with a time of 17:34.37. Zee has now figured in the scoring in each of her first four races in a Daemen uniform, finishing 26th today with a time of 17:43.92.

The East Region of NCAA Division II is comprised of teams from the ECC, NE-10 and CACC. The NCAA Division II East Region Championships will take place on Saturday, November 5 in Hopkinton, N.H. with the top three finishing teams qualifying for the NCAA Division II National Championships on Saturday, November 19 in St. Leo, Fla.

Coach Paul Lagno's Wildcat squad is back in action this weekend at the Canisius Alumni Classic on Saturday, October 15.

For breaking news and continuing coverage of the Daemen women's cross country team, follow @DaemenAthletics and @DaemenXC on Twitter.

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Players Mentioned

Mackenzie Donahue: 5' 2"; Senior

Hannah Rice: 5' 5"; Senior

Amy Trabert: 5' 3"; Junior

Ashley Cheff: 5' 1"; Senior

Rebekah Zee: 5' 5"; Redshirt Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Mackenzie Donahue
: 5' 2"; Senior

Hannah Rice
: 5' 5"; Senior

Amy Trabert
: 5' 3"; Junior

Ashley Cheff
: 5' 1"; Senior

Rebekah Zee
: 5' 5"; Redshirt Sophomore