HOUGHTON, N.Y. -- The unstoppable
Jon Moote (Wilson, N.Y.) crushed the Daemen University 8K program record on Saturday afternoon with a 25:16.0 third-place finish out of 151 at the Highlander Invitational. He shaved 14 seconds off the previous Daemen program 8K record (25:30.1) that he set at the 2022 Highlander Invitational. Moote was the first of three Wildcats to finish in the top-10 as the Wildcats posted a third-place team finish out of 11 teams at the meet for the second straight year.
For the second straight meet, freshman
CJ Johnson (Baltimore, Md.) finished second on the team, placing fifth with a PR time of 25:42.6. Senior
Connor O'Brien (Hamburg, N.Y.) was the third Daemen runner to cross the finish line, three seconds behind Johnson with a PR time of 25:45.6 to place sixth overall.
Daemen sophomore
Aidan Kincaid (Orchard Park, N.Y.) finished 25th overall at 26:36.1 for a personal best 8K time. Senior
Phil Ceccarelli (Hamburg, N.Y.) rounded out the Daemen scoring, coming in at 30th with a time of 26:57.9.
The Wildcats finished third as a team with 66. RIT (47) placed all five runners in the top-18, including the top two runners to win the meet, while Houghton (61) placed four of five in the top 20 to finish second overall. Ithaca (87) and Fredonia (139) rounded out the top 5. PSU-Behrend (151), Brockport State (181), Oswego State (220), Mohawk Valley Community College (268), Alfred (293) and SUNY Erie (346) are the final teams at the meet.
NOTABLE
- Johnson continues to wow in his freshman campaign with his fourth straight PR of the season. He knocked off 28.1 seconds of his previous 8K PR (26:10.7) set two weeks ago at the Harry F. Anderson Invitational.
- O'Brien took advantage of the fast course today, shaving 37.8 seconds off his previous PR of 26:23.4 at the Harry F. Anderson Invitational.
- Kincaid shaved 10 seconds off his previous 8K PR (26:46.2) set at the 2023 Harry F. Anderson Invitational.
- Freshman Ethan Keating (Wooster, Ohio) finished 33rd overall with a time of 27:09.7 for a PR, shaving three seconds off his previous PR of 27:12.5 at the Harry F. Anderson.
- Senior David Schwinger (Buffalo, N.Y.) placed 46th with a PR time of 27:35.6. He was one minute and 11 seconds faster than his previous PR (28:46.0) two weeks ago.
- Sophomore Josh Trometer (Lancaster, N.Y.) finished 49th for a PR of 27:44.0, racing in the 27th minute for the first time in his career. His previous PR was 28:19.8 at the Harry F. Anderson two weeks ago.
- Junior John Balch (Saranac, N.Y.) placed 59th with a PR of 27:56.3, 20 seconds faster than his previous PR of 28:16.4 at the Highlander Invitational last season. Freshman Matt Strasser (Alden, N.Y.) finished 68th with a PR time of 28:11.8, almost one minute faster than his previous PR of 29:06.0 at the Harry F. Anderson Invitational.
- Senior Steven Blatto (Lancaster, N.Y.) placed 71st with a time of 28:20.2. Junior Nolan Robillard (Hamburg, N.Y.) finished 93rd at 29:11.0 with a PR, faster than his prevous PR of 29:50.0 from two weeks ago. Freshman Brad Tobin (Hamburg, N.Y.) finished with a PR of 29:12.9 to place 94th overall, almost two minutes faster than his prevoius PR (31:02.7).
- Freshman John Stopera (Rome, N.Y.) and graduate student Alexander Reynolds (Olean, N.Y.) rounded out the Daemen runners. Stopera placed 105th at 29:58.8, while Reynolds finished with a time of 30:06.1 to place 111th.
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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