SACRAMENTO, CA – The Daemen University women's cross country team placed 34
th as a team at the 2024 NCAA Division II National Championships on Saturday at the Arcade Creek Cross Country Course in Sacramento, Calif.
Full Results
After finishing third as a team in the 2024 NCAA Division II East Region Championships two weeks ago to punch their ticket to the National Championships, the Wildcats finished with a team score of 1016 and averaged a time of 24:21.2 over the 6K race. East Coast Conference foe Roberts Wesleyan University, who won the East Region Championships on their home course on Nov. 9, finished first out of the three East Regional teams at 31
st with a team score of 889. Southern Connecticut State, the other automatic qualifier from the region, finished 33
rd with a score of 980.
Lauren Kiley of Grand Valley State won the National Championship, pacing the field of 259 with a first-place time of 20:28.5. Adams State won their third national title in four seasons after placing two runners in the top-10 and all five runners in the top 20 to post a team score of 61.
Running in her final cross country race of her five-year career, graduate student
Camryn Bailey (Geneva, N.Y.) paced the Wildcats for the second time this season with a time of 23:24.7 to place 199
th in the field of 259. She finished seventh out of all runners from the East Region. Bailey ran 29 races over her career as a Wildcat and was one of four runners to race in both National Championships in 2022 and 2024. She earned U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA) All-Region honors three times (2022, 2023, 2024) and First Team All-ECC honors twice (2023, 2024). Bailey finished this season with four top-10 finishes.
Graduate student
Courtney Merrill (Speedway, Ind.) closed out her collegiate cross country career finishing 13 seconds behind Bailey with a time of 23:37.3, finishing 211
th overall in her final cross country meet. Daemen's leader in six of the eight meets this season, Merrill wrapped up her career on the course having run 27 races, including both National Championships. She earned All-ECC honors three times, picking up First Team All-ECC this season for the first time and being named Second Team All-ECC in 2022 and 2023. Merrill earned USTFCCCA All-Region honors in 2023 and 2024. Merrill turned in four top-10 finishes this season.
Senior
Emma Cain (Lockport, N.Y.) finished third on the team for the second time this season, crossing the finish line with a time of 24:37.3 to place 239
th on the day. Cain finished as one of Daemen's top-five scorers in three races this season.
Junior
Patsy Oberholzer (Greece, N.Y.) finished 247
th with a time of 25:01.3. Oberholzer finished fourth on the team for the fourth meet this season and was one of Daemen's top five runners in six of the eight races this season.
Four seconds later, junior
Christa Oates (Tonawanda, N.Y.) crossed the finish line at 248
th with a time of 25:05.2 to round out the Daemen scorers. Running her first full season as a Wildcat, Oates posted a PR in six races and finished third or fourth on the team in seven of the eight meets.
Graduate student
Emma Grzebinski (West Seneca, N.Y.) finished sixth on the team and 249
th overall with a time of 25:10.5. Competing for the first time since the 2022 season, Grzebinski factored into Daemen's scorers in three races and was one of the top seven in six of the seven meets on the year. She posted three PRs this season.
Freshman
Lia Brasacchio (Victor, N.Y.) finished with a time of 25:17.1, good for 253
rd. In her rookie season, Brasacchio set personal records in five races and was one of Daemen's top five scoring runners in four meets.
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.
