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Daemen WXC 3rd place regional finish

Ticket Punched! Women's Cross Country Finishes Third At East Region Championship, Qualifies For NCAA National Championship

Nolet Paces Wildcats With 3rd Place Finish, Highest Daemen Finisher At Regionals Since Donahue In 2015

11/19/2022 2:10:00 PM

By: CONTACT: Mary Margaret Johnson, Assistant Athletics Communications Director | mmjohnso@daemen.edu
BETHPAGE, N.Y. -- The dynamic duo of Kassandra Nolet (Fort Erie, Ont.) and Marcy Colca (Getzville, N.Y.) led the Daemen University women's cross country team to a program-best third place team finish at the NCAA Division II East Regionals at the Bethpage Polo at the Park grounds on Saturday afternoon. As one of the top three teams to place in the region, the Wildcats punch their ticket to the NCAA National Championships, which will be held on December 2 at the Chambers Creek Regional Park in University Place, Wash. The East Region of the NCAA Division II is comprised of teams affiliated with the East Coast Conference, the Northeast-10 Conference and the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference. Adelphi served as the regional host. 

Daemen placed four runners in the top 25 finishers and accumulated a program-best 86 points in the team standings to finish third overall. The Wildcats' previous best team score was 159 set in 2016 when Daemen placed 4th overall. It marks the highest team finish for a Wildcat team in program history, and is also the fifth top-10 finish at the regional championship meet since 2015.

Southern New Hampshire, the top-ranked team in the region, had three runners in the top-10 and captured the regional championship with 52 points. Roberts Wesleyan, which won their eighth-straight ECC Championship two weeks ago, finished with 69 points to clinch a second-place team finish after placing four runners among the top 20 finishers. Nolet and Colca placed third and sixth, respectively, and led the Wildcats to a third place finish after four runners placed in the top 25. 

SNHU senior Ashley Corcoran took home individual medalist honors, pacing the field of 143 with a time of 21:55.4 over the 6K race. 2021 regional champion Fransiscah Cherotich, a sophomore out of American International, finished second overall at 22:09.1. Nolet placed third with a time of 22:24.3. 

HIGHLIGHTS
  • Four Wildcats earned All-Region honors from the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) after finishing in the top-25 today. 
  • Two weeks after winning ECC Runner of the Year with her first place finish at the ECC Championships, Kassandra Nolet led all Wildcat runners again, finishing third overall with a time of 22:24.3. Her third-place finish ties the highest finish for a Daemen runner at the East Region Championship since Mackenzie Donahue's third-place finish in 2015. Nolet's time marks her second-fastest 6K time in her career, and ranks eighth all-time in the Daemen 6K record book. It was just 13 seconds slower than her personal best (22:11.5) set at the 2021 regional championship when she placed 13th overall. She earns All-Region honors for the second consecutive season.
  • Marcy Colca finished sixth overall with a time of 22:35.8 to earn her highest finish at the regional championship. Colca's time marks her second-fastest 6K in her career, just nine seconds slower than her 2021 Region Championship time (22:26.4), and the fastest 6K of her sophomore season. She posted a 22:57.7 in her first-place finish at the Highlander Invitational earlier this season. After becoming the first Daemen freshman to garner All-Region recognition last season with her 17th place finish, Colca picks up her second straight All-Region honor. 
  • Senior Courtney Merrill (Speedway, Ind.) posted a personal-best time of 22:51.1 to finish 14th overall. She shaved 27 seconds off her previous 6K PR (23:18.3), set at the 2021 Paul Short Run. Merrill's 14th place finish is tied for seventh-bet in program history at the regional. This is the first time in Merrill's career that she earned All-Region honors. 
  • Junior Camryn Bailey (Geneva, N.Y.) earned her highest career finish at regionals and placed 25th overall with a personal-best time of 23:22.4, picking up All-Region honors for the first time in her career. Bailey shaved 29 seconds off her previous PR time (23:51.3), set at the Highlander Invitational earlier this season.
  • Running in the East Region Championship for the first time in her collegiate career, freshman Patsy Oberholzer (Greece, N.Y.) rounded out the Daemen scorers today, posting a time of 24:08.0 to finish 46th overall. 
  • Sophomore Emma Cain (Lockport, N.Y.) and redshirt-senior Hannah Thomas (Cheektowaga, N.Y.) were the final two Daemen runners this afternoon, and both earned career-high finishes at regionals. Cain posted a 24:19.8 to finish 49th, and Thomas placed 53rd with a time of 24:29.2. 
The 2022 season races on for Daemen women's cross country!! The Wildcats will run in the NCAA Division II Cross Country National Championships on December 2nd in University Place, Washington.

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.

Follow the Daemen women's cross country program on Twitter and Instagram at @DaemenXCTF.

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