FULL RESULTS

BETHPAGE, N.Y. - The Daemen College women's cross country team placed 19th out of 27 schools at the 2018 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II East Region Championship meet held today at Bethpage State Park. The 6K race is held to determine the region's three national championship-qualifying teams, as well as three national championship-qualifying individuals.

The East Region of NCAA Division II is comprised of teams affiliated with the East Coast Conference, the Northeast-10 Conference and the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference. Adelphi University of the NE-10 served as the regional host.

Perennial power Stonehill College claimed the regional title—its eighth championship over the past 10 years. The Skyhawks placed five runners among the Top-18 finishers and totaled 58 team points. Stonehill edged ECC champion Roberts Wesleyan College, which had four runners among the top-14 and totaled 63 points. Merrimack College placed third with 111 points. Stonehill, Roberts Wesleyan and Merrimack all advance to take part in the 2018 NCAA Division II National Championships, set to take place Dec. 1 outside Pittsburgh, Pa.

Junior Kendall Fitzgerald (Kamloops, British Columbia) of Post University paced the field of 184 runners with a time of 22:10.90. She finished second at last year's NCAA regional hosted by Daemen at Audubon Golf Course. Fitzgerald edged runner-up Anna Lastra (Bridgton, Maine) of Stonehill by seven seconds.

The top-three individuals from non-qualifying teams also earned their way to the national meet. Fitzgerald returns to the nationals for the second-straight year and will be joined by Kialeigh Marston (Standish, Maine) of Assumption College and Christine Myers (Altamont, N.Y.) of The College of Saint Rose. Marston placed fourth overall, while Myers finished fifth.

Sophomore Savannah Warner (Elma, N.Y.) finished first among Daemen runners for the sixth time this season, as she placed 64th with a time of 25:00.40–25 seconds better than the time she posted at last year's regional. Freshman Sarah Golas (Alden, N.Y.) competed in her first career NCAA regional and placed 78th with a time of 25:19.90. That ranks as a personal-best time for Golas in a 6K race, topping her previous best time of 25:56.4 that she posted at the University of Rochester Yellowjacket Invitational on Sept. 15. Redshirt freshman Kassandra Nolet (Fort Erie, Ont.) also finished in under 26 minutes today, as she placed 100th with a time of 25:43.40. She crushed her previous personal-best time for a 6K race (27:04.3), which she posted at the Highlander Invitational hosted by Houghton College on Oct. 6.

Sophomores Taya Mucha (Lockport, N.Y.) and Ashley Dusza (Alden, N.Y.) rounded out the Daemen scorers today. Mucha narrowly missed coming in in under 26 minutes, but still managed to finish 111th with a new personal-best time for a 6K race (26:03.00). Her previous best time for a 6K race (26:17.9) came during the 2017 season at the Mike Woods Invitational hosted by SUNY Geneseo. Dusza placed 140th with a time of 27:08.30, which ranks as her best time for a 6K race this season.

Redshirt freshman Amanda Bushway (East Aurora, N.Y.) and sophomore Mackenzie Tubbs (Elmira, N.Y.) also competed for the Wildcats. Bushway competed in her first NCAA regional and finished 159th with a time of 28:48.80—nearly four minutes faster than her previous best 6K time of 32:15.2 that she posted at the Highlander Invitational on Oct. 6. Tubbs appeared in her second-straight NCAA regional and finished 166th with a time of 29:19.00.

Today's race marked the 2018 season-finale for Daemen.

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