AMHERST, N.Y. - Five student-athletes from the Daemen College women's and men's cross country teams have been named to the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic Team for NCAA Division II. The announcement was made Feb. 9 from that organization's headquarters in New Orleans, Louisiana. It marked the second-straight year that both the Daemen women's and men's programs were represented.
Senior Amy Trabert (Amherst, N.Y.) and freshmen Tara Pede (Schenectady, N.Y.) and Savannah Warner (Elma, N.Y.) were named to the women's team, while junior Timothy Poole (Fayetteville, N.Y.) and freshman Mike Swiniarski (Akron, N.Y.) earned a spot on the men's team.
The All-Academic honors were awarded to those athletes who have compiled a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.25 and finished among the top 30 percent of eligible runners at their respective regional championships and/or the top half of the field at the NCAA Championships.
Trabert becomes the first repeat selection in program history. She completed a stellar four-year career by finishing 13th at the NCAA Division II East Regional hosted by Daemen on Nov. 4, earning USTFCCCA All-East Region honors. A two-time, first-team All-East Coast Conference performer, she finished her career with ten top-10 finishes in 24 career races. Trabert is a social work major.
Pede (32nd place) and Warner (70th place) both finished in the top-75 while competing in their first NCAA regional championship. Pede is a psychology major, while Warner is majoring in physical therapy. Trabert, Pede and Warner helped the Wildcats to a 10th-place finish at the NCAA East Region Championship.
Swiniarski and Poole both came in under 37 minutes during the NCAA East Regional last fall. Swiniarski, running in his first NCAA Championship event, was in 95th place at the 3K marker and moved up 27 spots over the final 7K and placed 68th. Poole also had a strong final 7K, as he moved up 20 spots and placed 77th. The two helped the Wildcats to a 14th-place finish at the regional championship. Both are majoring in physical therapy.
Daemen was also represented as both the women's and men's teams earned USTFCCCA All-Academic Team honors.Teams must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 and must have scored at an NCAA Division II regional meet to qualify for All-Academic team awards. The Daemen women posted a team GPA of 3.28, while the men came in at 3.23. There were 276 teams—157 women's teams and 119 men's teams—that picked up All-Academic Team honors.
For continuing coverage of the Daemen women's cross country team, follow @DaemenAthletics and @DaemenXC on Twitter.
