EAST COAST CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS -- FULL RESULTS


STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - The Daemen College women's track and field team placed third out of 10 teams at the 2022 East Coast Conference Indoor Championships held today at Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex on Staten Island, N.Y.

The third-place finish and the team's point total of 84 both rank as the best in program history—eclipsing the previous standard of fourth place and 66 points in 2016.

Holy Family University (107) edged out two-time defending champion Georgian Court University (102) for the conference championship. Daemen (84), Roberts Wesleyan College (70) and St. Thomas Aquinas College (51) rounded out the top five.

The Daemen women entered the event ranked 11th in the most recent regional merit rating index for the 2021-22 season published by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

The Wildcats collected 45 of their 84 team points during three distance events. Daemen had three of the top four finishers in the 3,000 meters, four of the top six finishers in the 5,000 meters and a third-place showing in the mile. Freshman Marcy Colca (Getzville, N.Y.) cruised to a first-place finish in the 5,000 meter run and would later place second in the 3,000 meters. Graduate student Kassandra Nolet (Fort Erie, Ont.) placed second in the 5,000 meters and fourth in the 3,000 meters. Junior Courtney Merrill (Speedway, Ind.) posted a pair of third-place showings. A school-record effort by junior Skye Dorcely (Buffalo, N.Y.) in the weight throw highlighted the field portion of the day for the Wildcats.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Colca cruised to a first-place finish in the 5,000 meter run with a personal best time of 17:45.10. Her time was 16 seconds faster than her previous best time of 18:01.40 and ranks as the second fastest time in program history in the 5,000 meters. Former standout Mackenzie Donahue posted a school and conference record of 17:00.75 in the 5,000 meters during the 2017 championships. Colca would cap her solid day by placing second in the 3,000 meters with a personal best time of 10:27.10—eclipsing her previous best time of 10:32.88. Colca's win in the 5,000 meters marked the third time this season she has won a race. She also posted a top-five finish in each of the six events she ran this season.
• Nolet opened her day by placing second to Colca in the 5,000 meters with a personal best time of 18:16.41—eclipsing her previous best time of 18:19.87. She would go on to place fourth in the 3,000 meters with a time of 10:42.07. Nolet posted a top-five finish in each of the six events she ran this season.
• Merrill began her day by placing third in the mile with a personal best time of 15:15.15—which ranks and the fastest time posted by a Daemen runner in the mile this season. She would go on to knock 11 seconds off her personal best time and place third in the 3,000 meters with a time of 10:30.10.
• Senior Sarah Golas (Aldem N.Y.) and freshman Emma Cain (Lockport, N.Y.) also turned in solid efforts in the 5.000 meters. Golas placed fifth with a time of 19:24.71, while Cain finished sixth with a personal best time of 19:34.74.
• Senior Hannah Thomas (Cheektowaga, N.Y.) capped off her solid season with a third place showing in the 800 meters (2:29.00), while Sophomore Camryn Bailey (Geneva, N.Y.) and senior Amanda Bushway (East Aurora, N.Y.) both posted a seventh place showing. Bailey finished seventh in the 1,000 meters with a time of 3:17.64, while Bushway placed seventh in the 500 meters with a personal best time of 1:26.79. Bushway's time ranked as the fastest by a Daemen runner in the 500 meters this season.
• Sophomores Haley Hinds (Blossvale, N.Y.), Emma Grzebinski (West Seneca, N.Y.) and Neissa Raymond (Brooklyn, N.Y.) also registered personal best times today as well. Hinds in the 1,000 meters (3:27.74), Grzebinski in the 800 meters (2:46.02) and Raymond in the 400 meters (1:08.01).
• Freshman Alyssa Amirato (Depew, N.Y.) scored in both of the field events she took part in today. She placed fourth in the long jump with a personal best leap of 4.88 meters and sixth in the triple jump with a another personal best (10.25 meters). Her effort in the long jump was the best by a Daemen athlete this season.
• Sophomore Alyssa Harrington (Tonawanda, N.Y.) also posted a personal best effort in both the long jump and triple jump—placing ninth in the long jump (4.71 meters) and fifth in the triple jump (10.58 meters). Her effort in the triple jump was the best by a Daemen athlete this season.
• Freshman Sydney Taylor (Brockport, N.Y.) competed in both the 60 meter hurdles and the high jump. She posted a personal best time of 10.42 in the 60 meter hurdles, but did not qualify for the finals. Her leap of 1.50 meters placed her fourth in the high jump.
• Dorcely placed first out of 21 athletes in the weight throw with a school-record toss of 13.73 meters—eclipsing the previous record of 13.15 meters set by Betty Jones (Camillus, N.Y.) earlier this season at the Houghton Indoor Meet.
• Sophomore Paige Pavelski (East Aurora, N.Y.) placed eighth in the shot put with a toss of 10.03 meters—which ranks as the longest throw by a Daemen athlete this season.
• Daemen's 4,000 meter distance medley relay team of Hinds, Bushway, Thomas and Bailey earned Daemen its first points of the day when they placed first out of eight teams with a time of 13:01.97—just a second off the program record time of 13:00.87 set at the 2017 Highlander Invitational.

UP NEXT

The Wildcats are scheduled to open their 2022 outdoor season on April 2 when they take part in the Geneseo Early Season Invitational. 

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.

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