ECC Championships Up Next For Cross Country

10/20/2023 11:15:00 AM

By: CONTACT: Mary Margaret Johnson, Assistant Athletics Communications Director | mmjohnso@daemen.edu

CHAMPIONSHIP TIME
The Daemen University men's and women's cross country teams will put their team speed to the test as they race in the 2023 East Coast Conference Championships on Saturday. The men's 8K race will begin at 10 AM and the women's 5K will kick off at 11 AM in Rochester, N.Y. at the Matt St. James Cross Country Course.

A LOOK BACK AT THE MEN'S SEASON
The Wildcats have had a successful 2023 season. The men's team kicked off the season with back-to-back first place team finishes for the first time since 2011 at the Frank Dillon Memorial Invitational and the Daemen Alumni Invitational. The Wildcats then turned around and posted a program-best second place finish at the Harry F. Anderson Invitational, and finished third out of 11 teams at the Highlander Invitational where 11 of the 14 Daemen runners notched PR's. Daemen placed eighth out of 14 teams at the Canisius Alumni Classic last weekend after running in a pack throughout the race to work on speed. Senior Jon Moote (Wilson, N.Y.) has led the Wildcats in three of the five meets this season, and earned ECC Runner of the Week three times on the year. He shattered the Daemen 8K record at the Highlander Invitational, posting a time of 25:16.0 as he shaved 14 seconds off his own Daemen 8K record of 25:30.5 set at the 2022 Highlander Invitational. Freshman CJ Johnson (Baltimore, Md.) put together a solid rookie season and picked up four ECC Rookie of the Week awards from the league.

A LOOK BACK AT THE WOMEN'S SEASON
With eight runners on the 2023 roster that competed in the highly successful 2022 season, the Daemen women put together another solid year this season. The Cats opened up 2023 with a second place finish at the Frank Dillon Memorial Invitational, and then posted a first place finish at the Daemen Alumni Classic. Only three runners participated in the Harry F. Anderson Invitational, but the Wildcats were back to full strength at the Highlander Invitational where they placed second of 10 teams. Running in a pack for speedwork last weekend at the Canisius Alumni Classic, the Wildcats placed sixth of 12 teams. Fifth year senior Hannah Thomas (Cheektowaga, N.Y.) led the Wildcats in four of the five races on the year and set PRs in five of the six meets that she led the team, and was named the ECC Runner of the Week twice this season.

LAST SEASON'S RESULTS
The Wildcat men and women both finished with program-bests at the 2022 ECC Championships, with each team finishing second in the conference. Graduate student Kassandra Nolet finished first overall in the women's 5K race and became the first Daemen runner to earn ECC Runner of the Year with her first-place finish. The women earned their fifth second-place finish in the conference championships since joining the ECC in 2013. Four Wildcat women earned All-ECC honors with Courtney Merrill (Speedway, Ind.) and Thomas earning Second-Team All-ECC honors as they placed ninth and tenth, respectively. In the men's race, freshman Aidan Kincaid (Orchard Park, N.Y.) was the first Daemen runner to be named the ECC Rookie of the Year as the first freshman finisher in the race. The Wildcats had a program-record five runners earn All-ECC honors, as Moote earned First Team All-ECC honors, and Connor O'Brien (Hamburg, N.Y.), Phil Ceccarelli (Hamburg, N.Y.) and Kincaid all picked up Second Team honors.

REGIONAL HONORS
The Wildcat men's and women's teams remain ranked in the East Region in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) in the fifth weekly regional rankings. The men moved back into fourth in the region and the women moved up to seventh in the East Region after last weekend's showings at the Highlander Invitational. The East Region consists of the top 10 teams from the East Coast Conference, the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, and the Northeast-10 Conference.

UP NEXT
The Wildcats will travel to Hopkinton, N.H. to run in the 2023 NCAA Division II East Regional. The Wildcat women posted a program-best third place finish at the 2022 race and punched their ticket to the NCAA Div. II National Championships last season, while the men posted a program-best ninth place finish out of 21 teams.

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.

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