Meet #1
FRANK DILLON MEMORIAL INVITATIONAL
DATE: Saturday, September 4
TIME: 10:15 a.m.
LOCATION: Le Moyne College - Syracuse, N.Y.
LIVE TIMING: via Leone Timing
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
1. BACK IN ACTION
The Daemen College men's cross country team opens the 2021 season by taking part in the Frank Dillon Memorial Invitational Saturday (Sept. 4). The meet will take place on the campus of Le Moyne College in Syracuse, N.Y. It will mark Daemen's first competition in 665 days. The Wildcats last competed on Nov. 9, 2019 at the NCAA Division II East Region Championships. The 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Daemen will be one of seven teams competing Saturday. In addition to Daemen and meet host Le Moyne, the remaining field includes SUNY Morrisville, Onondaga Community College, SUNY Broome, SUNY Delhi and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
2. LOOK WHO'S BACK
Third-year head coach Pete Gratien will look to juniors John Bruggman (Batavia, N.Y.), Dominic Clementi (Barker, N.Y.) and Alexander Reynolds (Olean, N.Y.) for leadership this fall. 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.
3. PLENTY OF FRESH FACES
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.).
4. POLL POSITION
Daemen has been picked fourth in the East Coast Conference Men's Cross Country Preseason Coaches' Poll which was recently announced following a vote of the league's nine head coaches.
5. ON THE HORIZON
Daemen returns to action next Saturday (Sept. 11) when it hosts the Daemen Duels at Bassett Park in Williamsville, N.Y.
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 men's cross country program on Twitter and Instagram at @DaemenXC_TRACK.
