AMHERST, N.Y. -- For the fourth consecutive week, the Daemen University women's cross country team remains ranked second in the East Region in the
Week Four 2022 NCAA Division II Regional Rankings, as released today by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). The Wildcats are ranked second out of ten teams, and the East Region consists of the top teams from the East Coast Conference, the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, and the Northeast-10 Conference.
Southern New Hampshire remains atop the women's poll, while Daemen, Saint Anselm, Roberts Wesleyan, and Southern Connecticut round out the top five in the East Region. Adelphi and St. Thomas Aquinas both jump up a spot in the poll, while Felician drops to eighth. Le Moyne and Jefferson (PA) round out the poll.
Daemen remains second in the region after running to four consecutive team victories this season for a program record. On Saturday, the Wildcats earned their
fourth straight win of the season in the Highlander Invitational 6K, which marked the fourth different distance Daemen has raced this year. Daemen placed five runners in the top ten at the Highlander Invitational, with sophomore
Marcy Colca (Getzville, N.Y.) yet again pacing the field of 95 runners to win her fourth meet of the season with a time of 22.57.5, and earned her fourth ECC Women's Runner of the Week award on Tuesday. Graduate student
Kassandra Nolet (Fort Erie, Ont.) finished 2.8 seconds behind Colca in second place, freshman
Patsy Oberholzer (Greece, N.Y.) finished fourth overall in her collegiate 6K debut to earn her fourth ECC Rookie of the Week award, senior
Courtney Merrill (Speedway, Ind.) placed sixth and junior
Camryn Bailey (Geneva, N.Y.) rounded out the Daemen scoring to finis ninth overall.
This week, Daemen swept the ECC Cross Country Weekly Awards, marking the first time a team has won all four awards since Roberts Wesleyan in 2013. After winning all four races, Colca picked up her fourth ECC Women's Runner of the Week awards this season. Oberholzer ties Mackenzie Donahue (2013) as the only Daemen runner to win four Women's Rookie of the Week honors. Men's team junior Jon Moote (Wilson, N.Y.) earned his second ECC Men's Runner of the Week after setting a program-record 8K time at the Highlander Invitational on Saturday. Men's freshman Aidan Kincaid (Orchard Park, N.Y.) earned his third Men's Rookie of the Week honors after recording a personal-best on Saturday. Kincaid is the only Daemen men's runner to take home multiple ECC Rookie of the Week honors since Matt Cregan in 2013.
Daemen entered the season ranked second in the preseason regional rankings for the first time since 2017. The Wildcats closed out the 2021 season ranked sixth in the final USTFCCCA regional poll.
