AMHERST, N.Y. - Runners
Jon Moote (Wilson, N.Y.),
Marcy Colca (Getzville, N.Y.) and
Patsy Oberholzer (Greece, N.Y.) of the Daemen University cross country teams have each been awarded by the East Coast Conference for recent performances. Moote earned the ECC Men's Cross Country Runner of the Week, Colca was named ECC Women's Cross Country Runner of the Week while Oberholzer takes home ECC Rookie of the Week honors. All three awards are for competitions held August 28 through September 3, and the official announcement was made via the ECC's
weekly sport report.
A junior on the men's team, Moote placed fourth overall in the field of 81 runners with a time of 21:12.3 over the 6K race at the Frank Dillon Memorial Invitational. His second career top-10 finish helped the Wildcats finish second overall out of seven teams. Moote was Daemen's top finisher in the meet for the sixth time in his career. He finished at the top of the Wildcats' team in five out of the six races he competed in last season.
Moote picks up his second career ECC Cross Country Runner of the Week award. He took home the same honor last fall after winning the Daemen Duels on September 11, 2021.
Colca earns her first career conference Cross Country Runner of the Week after her first place finish in the Frank Dillon Memorial Invitational. She topped the field of 66 runners with a time of 15:32.2 over the 4K race. Colca was the first of four consecutive Daemen runners to cross the finish line in the meet, as the Wildcats placed the top four finishers and took home the team championship out of seven teams.
Kassandra Nolet (Fort. Erie, Ont.) finished four seconds behind Colca, with a second-place time of 15:36.4, and junior
Camryn Bailey (Geneva, N.Y.) came in third with a time of 15:59.5.
Saturday's win marked her second career first-place finish. The Williamsville North grad finished first overall in the 2021 Frank Dillon Memorial Invitational as well. A First-Team All-ECC runner in the 2021 season, Colca earned ECC Cross Country Rookie of the Week awards twice last season. She won the weekly award for the first time on September 7, 2021 after becoming the first Daemen runner to win a race since Amy Trabert in 2016, and the first Daemen freshman to do so since Mackenzie Donahue in 2013.
Oberholzer shined in her collegiate debut on Saturday, rounding out Daemen's top four runners with her fourth place finish. She posted a time of 16:04.1 over the 4K race. She becomes the fifth Wildcat freshman to take home the first Rookie of the Week award of the season. Colca earned the award twice last season, including the first of the year.
Sarah Golas (2018), Tara Pede (2017), and Mackenzie Donahue (2013) are the other Daemen runners to have previously taken home the first ECC Rookie of the Week award.
The Daemen women are ranked second among ten teams in the East Region in the
2022 NCAA Division II Preseason Regional Rankings, released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
Since Daemen joined the ECC in 2013, they have swept the Men's and Women's Cross Country Runners of the Week awards four times. Moote and Nolet won Runners of the Week honors last season.
Moote, Colca, Oberholzer and the rest of the Wildcats will be in action on Saturday, September 10 when they host the Daemen Alumni Invitational at Bassett Park in Williamsville, N.Y. The women's 6K race begins at 10 a.m., the men's 8K will start at 11 a.m.
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 University cross country/track and field program on Twitter and Instagram at @DaemenXCTF.
