FULL RESULTS

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Sophomore Mike Swiniarski (Akron, N.Y.) posted a top-10 finish to lead the Daemen College men's cross country team to a fifth-place showing at the 2018 East Coast Conference Men's Cross Country Championship, held this morning on the campus of Roberts Wesleyan College.

Host Roberts Wesleyan, which is ranked sixth in in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division II East Region poll, placed five runners among the top-seven finishers en route to its fifth-straight league championship. St. Thomas Aquinas College placed second with 64 points. Daemen (108) finished just three points behind third-place Molloy College (105) and two points behind fourth-place New York Institute of Technology (106).

Sophomore Noah Samatei of NYIT claimed the individual title, as he completed the 8,000-meter course in a time of 25:48.9. Samatei, who earned ECC Rookie of the Year honors last fall, was crowned ECC Runner of the Year by virtue of winning today's race. Samatei finished 20 seconds ahead of runner-up Christopher Sims of Roberts Wesleyan (26:08.2). RWC's Josiah Ottolini, who placed first last year, finished third this year with a time of 26:19.0. Freshman Shane Pease of RWC claimed ECC Rookie of the Year honors, as he placed fourth with a time of 26:20.9.

Swiniarski once again paced the Daemen runners. The sophomore has now placed first among Wildcat runners in each of the six races this fall. Swiniarski became just the third Daemen runner to post a top-10 finish at the ECC Championships, as he placed ninth out of 70 runners with a time of 26:48.2. That time ranks as his third fastest for an 8K race, just 14 seconds off his personal-best time of 26:34.9 he set on the same course at the Harry F. Anderson Invitational six weeks ago. His ninth-pace finish today earns him second-team all-conference honors.The top-seven runners earn first-team All-ECC, while eighth through 14 earn second-team honors. Swiniarski came just seven seconds shy of earning All-ECC honors as a freshman last year after placing 15th overall with a time of 27:05.76.

Swiniarski joins Kevin Roginson and Jeremy Rushok as the only Daemen runners to post s top-10 finish at the ECC Championships. Roginson owns the best-ever finish for a Daemen runner at this event, as he placed fifth in 2016. Daemen had two top-10 finishers in 2015, as Rushok placed eighth and Roginson ninth.

Junior Josh Bodnar (Fillmore, N.Y.) posted his third-straight top-25 finish at the ECC Championship, as he crossed the finish line today in 18th place with a time of 27:33.8. Bodnar placed 12th and earned second-team All-ECC honors last year with a personal-best time of 26:40.7. As a freshman he placed 25th.

Senior Lucas Canales (Ithaca, N.Y.), red-shirt sophomore Cale Silvestri (Elma, N.Y.) and freshman Robert Spierling (Endicott, N.Y.) rounded out the Daemen scorers today. Canalas placed 31st with a time of 28:24.7, which ranks as his second-best time this season. He posted a 27:55.0 on this same course at the Harry F. Anderson Invitational back in September. Canales competed in three of a possible four ECC Championships during his four-year career. He placed 16th last year with a time of 27:12.6.

Silvestri competed in his first race this season and placed 38th with a time of 28:58.3. Silvestri competed in all seven races in his first season with the program last year and placed 31st at the 2017 ECC Championship with a personal-best time of 28:17.6. Spierling, competing in his first conference championship, placed 46th with a time of 30:03.0. Redshirt sophomore Nate Louk (Jane Lew, W. Va.) also competed in his first ECC Championship today and placed 50th with a time of 30:21.8.

Daemen is idle until Nov. 17 when it will take part in the NCAA Division II East Region Championship. The race will be hosted by Adelphi University and take place at Bethpage State Park in Bethpage, N.Y.

For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, or sign up to receive customizable news alerts, e-mail newsletters and weekly schedule alerts.