BETHPAGE, N.Y. -- The Daemen University men's cross country team capped off their 2022 season by earning a program-best 9th place finish at the NCAA Division II East Region Championships held today at the Bethpage Polo at the Park grounds. The East Region Championship featured 20 teams competing from the East Coast Conference, Northeast-10 Conference and Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference.

Southern Connecticut of the NE-10 placed two runners in the top ten to take home the regional championship with a score of 53 points. Franklin Pierce (64 points) and Roberts Wesleyan (98 points) claimed second and third places, respectively. SCSU, FPU and Roberts have each earned a bid to the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships, which are set for Dec. 2 in University Place, Washington. 

FPU sophomore Wondu Summa paced the field of 144 runners today, placing first in the 10K race with a time of 31:27.7. Senior Jacob Logan of Southern New Hampshire placed second with a time of 31:41.1, while SCSU sophomore Jonathan Volpe finished third at 31:49.3. Roberts Wesleyan junior Owen White, who placed second overall in the ECC Championships behind teammate Blake Kasper on Nov. 5, finished fourth overall at regionals today and was the lone ECC runner to finish in the top ten. Along with first-place finisher Summa from FPU, senior Claudio Rocha of Assumption and junior Gabe Medina of American International also earned a trip to the national championships as the top-three individuals from non-qualifying teams. Rocha finished fifth (31:53.0), and Medina placed sixth (31:58.9) overall. 

HIGHLIGHTS

• Daemen's 9th place finish was the highest in program history at the East Region Championships. Junior Jon Moote (Wilson, N.Y.) set a personal-best 10K time of 33:35.7 and paced the seven Wildcats that ran today with a 34th-place finish. He shaved 20 seconds off his previous best 10K time (33:55.7), placed at the 2021 East Region Championships. Moote's time ranks as the fourth fastest time by a Daemen runner in a regional championship meet since the program gained full NCAA Division II status in 2015, and is also the fastest regional championship by a Daemen runner since Kevin Roginson placed sixth with a time of 31:54.6 in 2016. Moote was the lone Daemen runner to place in the top-50. 
• Junior Connor O'Brien (Hamburg, N.Y.) ran in his second collegiate 10K and placed 53rd overall with a PR time of 34:19.2, shaving 46 seconds off his 2021 East Region Championship time (35:05.8). O'Brien finished second on the team for the fifth time this season. 
• Aidan Kincaid (Orchard Park, N.Y.) capped off a successful freshman season, racing in his first collegiate 10K and finishing third on the team, posting a time of 34:24.6 to place 55th overall. Kincaid won ECC Rookie of the Year at the ECC Championships on Nov. 5, awarded to the first freshman to cross the finish line in the race.
• Juniors Steven Blatto (Lancaster, N.Y.) and Phil Ceccarelli (Hamburg, N.Y.) ran in their first collegiate 10K's today, and rounded out the Daemen scorers today. Blatto earned a personal best 10K time of 34:45.20 to finish 65th overall and fourth on the Wildcats, and Ceccarelli placed 93rd overall with a time of 35:31.3.
• Senior Dominic Clementi (Barker, N.Y.) ran in his final race in a Daemen jersey, finishing 94th just behind Ceccarelli with a personal-best time of 35:37.3. Clementi shaved 20 seconds off his previous best (35:57.6), set at the 2021 East Region Championships. Junior David Schwinger (Buffalo, N.Y.) was the final Daemen runner at regionals, placing 108th with a PR time of 36:30.4. 
• The Wildcats were 13th at the midway point of the race (5K), but picked up the pace for the final five kilometers to finish 9th overall.
• Daemen wraps up the 2022 season on a high note. The Wildcats recorded their highest program finish in the ECC Championships on Nov. 5 (2nd place), and their highest program finish in the East Region Championships.

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Daemen University features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 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.

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