Men's Cross Country Picked Fourth In ECC Preseason Poll

8/24/2021 2:18:00 PM

By: CONTACT: Mike Miranto, Sr. Associate A.D. for External Operations & Communications | (716) 839-8385 | mmiranto@daemen.edu

AMHERST, N.Y. - Daemen has been picked fourth in the East Coast Conference Men's Cross Country Preseason Coaches' Poll which was announced this afternoon following a vote of the league's eight head coaches.

The Wildcats' No. 4 ranking comes after the team placed sixth at the 2019 ECC Championships - the last conference championship meet hosted by the ECC. Daemen returns just three runners who competed in that event. The 2020 ECC Championships was canceled amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Roberts Wesleyan, winners of the last six conference titles, is the unanimous choice at the top of this season's poll. The Redhawks garnered all eight first-place votes and 64 total points. St. Thomas Aquinas (51 points) and Molloy (47 points) follow in the second and third poll positions.

Fifth-place Queens (N.Y.) was awarded 32 points, followed by ECC newcomers Staten Island (28 points) and D'Youville (29 points). Bridgeport rounds out the poll with eight points.

Juniors John Bruggman (Batavia, N.Y.), Dominic Clementi (Barker, N.Y.) and Alexander Reynolds (Olean, N.Y.) are the lone Daemen runners with collegiate cross country experience. Bruggman and Reynolds were among the team's top-five finishers in all six races in 2019. Clementi appeared in three races that season, and went on to earn All-ECC Second Team honors in outdoor track and field this past spring.

Several sophomores, including Jon Moote (Wilson, N.Y.), Connor O'Brien (Hamburg, N.Y.) and Phil Ceccarelli (Hamburg, N.Y.), have been with the program for a full year, waiting to make their collegiate cross country debuts. The roster also includes freshmen John Balch (Saranac, N.Y.) and Nolan Robillard (Hamburg, N.Y.).

The Wildcats open the season September 4 by traveling to Syracuse for the Frank Dillon Memorial Invitational hosted by Le Moyne. It will mark the team's first meet in 665 days. Four additional regular season meets follow, including the Daemen Duels (September 11) at Williamsville's Bassett Park and the prestigious Paul Short Run (October 1) hosted by Lehigh. Roberts Wesleyan hosts the ECC Championships on October 23 as well as the NCAA Division II East Region Championships on November 6.

2021 ECC Men's Cross Country Preseason Poll
1. Roberts Wesleyan (8) - 64
2. St. Thomas Aquinas - 51
3. Molloy - 47
4. DAEMEN - 38
5. Queens (N.Y.) - 32
6. Staten Island - 28
7. D'Youville - 20
8. Bridgeport - 8

( ) denotes first place votes

Daemen College features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 18 intercollegiate teams. 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.

Follow the Daemen College cross country/track and field program on Twitter and Instagram at @DaemenXC_TRACK and on Facebook at @DaemenXCTF.

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