ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Junior Kevin Roginson (Amherst, N.Y./Williamsville North) registered the best-ever individual finish by a Daemen College runner at the East Coast Conference Men's Cross Country Championship, while leading the Wildcats to a third-place showing at the event this morning on the campus of Roberts Wesleyan College. The result equalled Daemen's best finish at the ECC Championship since the Wildcats first took part in 2013.
Daemen accumulated 102 points in the team standings, finishing behind Roberts Wesleyan (16) and St. Thomas Aquinas College (66). RWC placed five runners among the top-six finishers en route to its third-straight league championship. Molloy College (111) and New York Institute of Technology (118) rounded out the top-five.
RWC was paced by race-winner, and thus ECC Runner of the Year, Keith Pease who won today with a time of 25:57.4. Pease edged teammates Matt Watson (26:01.9) and Aaron Bellomo (26:02.4) for the individual title.
Roginson, who set a program-record (25:32.6) at the same course earlier this year en route to a first-place showing at the Harry F. Anderson Invitational, crossed the finish line in 26:21.6—good enough for fifth place. The previous-best finish by a Daemen runner at the event came last year when Jeremy Rushok finished eighth. It was the fourth top-10 finish for Roginson this season. It also marked the second-straight year he has posted a top-10 finish at the event, as he placed ninth last year with a time of 26:25.2. His effort earned him first-team all-conference honors after earning second-team honors last fall. The junior becomes the program's first-ever first-team all-conference performer.
Behind Roginson, Daemen's remaining four scorers came in between 22nd and 37th today. Senior Nigel Cordulla (Cheektowaga, N.Y./John F. Kennedy) placed second among Daemen runners (22nd overall) with a time of 28:06.43. Freshman Josh Bodnar (Fillmore, N.Y./Fillmore) was 25th overall (eighth among freshmen) with a time of 28:19.2. The Wildcat greenhorn has now figured in the scoring in each of his first six collegiate races, including a 10th-place finish at the season-opening Le Moyne Alumni Short Course Invitational.
Senior Mike Capestrani (Jamestown, N.Y./Jamestown) and sophomore Timothy Poole (Fayetteville, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius) rounded out the Wildcat scorers today. Capestrani placed 35th (29:03.9), while Poole finished 37th (29:08.6). Senior Matt VanDeMortel (Geneva, N.Y./Geneva) also competed for Daemen and placed 43rd with a time of 29:42.8.
Daemen's season continues on Saturday, Nov. 5 at the NCAA Division II East Region Championships in Hopkinton, N.H.
For continuing coverage on the Daemen men's cross country team throughout the season, follow @DaemenAthletics and @DaemenXC on Twitter.
