Meet #7: 2024 NCAA Division II East Region Championships
Date: Saturday, Nov. 9 | Rochester, N.Y. | Matt St. James Cross Country Trails
Start Times: Men's Race - 10 AM | Women's Race - 11:15 AM
Distances: 10K (Men), 6K (Women)
Live Timing
REGIONALS HERE WE COME
The Daemen University men's and women's cross country teams will race on familiar territory at the 2024 NCAA Division II East Region Championships in Rochester, N.Y. at the Matt St. James Cross Country Trails on the campus of Roberts Wesleyan University. The men and women will race championship distances, with the men running a 10K and the women running a 6K. The men's race will kick off the meet starting at 10 AM and will be followed by the women's race at 11:15 AM. The top three teams to finish will get an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II National Championships, held this year in Sacramento, CA at the Arcade Creek Cross Country Course on Nov. 23, 2024.
ECC CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Wildcat men and women each placed second at the 2024 East Coast Conference Championships on Saturday, Oct. 26 at Williamsville's Bassett Park.
For the fourth consecutive season, the Wildcat women finished second as a team at the conference championships, placing four runners in the top-12 to earn All-ECC honors and finished with a team score of 52. Roberts Wesleyan won their 10th straight conference title as they finished their top four runners in the top five. Daemen graduate student
Courtney Merrill (Speedway, Ind.) placed sixth out of 61 with a PR time of 18:34.3 to earn First Team All-ECC honors for the first time in her career. Graduate student
Camryn Bailey (Geneva, N.Y.) picked up First Team All-ECC for the second straight season, finishing two seconds behind Merrill with a 5K PR time of 18:50.7 to place seventh. Junior
Christa Oates (Tonawanda, N.Y.) finished 11
th overall with a PR time of 19:19.9 to earn Second Team All-ECC honors. It marked the first time that Oates earned All-Conference. Junior
Patsy Oberholzer (Greece, N.Y.) earned Second Team All-ECC honors for the second straight season, placing 12
th overall with a time of 19:23.3. Graduate student
Emma Grzebinski (West Seneca, N.Y.) rounded out the Daemen scoring, finishing fifth on the team with a PR time of 19:50.2 to place 16
th overall.
The men placed second for the third consecutive season and placed two runners in the top-14 finishers to earn All-ECC honors. Daemen placed their top five runners between 10th and 26th place in the race to finish with a team score of 76. Roberts Wesleyan claimed the team title for the 10th year in a row, placing their top five in the first eight finishers. Daemen junior
Aidan Kincaid (Orchard Park, N.Y.) led the Wildcats for the second straight meet, earning Second Team All-ECC honors for the third consecutive season with a time of 26:48.6 to finish 10th in the field of 68. Graduate student
Jon Moote (Wilson, N.Y.) was named to the Second Team All-ECC after finishing 13
th with a time of 27:07.7. Sophomore
Ethan Keating (Wooster, N.Y.) placed 16
th overall with a time of 27:27.0. Junior
Josh Trometer (Lancaster, N.Y.) finished with a time of 28:01.0 and posted a personal-best finish of 19
th overall. Graduate student
David Schwinger (Buffalo, N.Y.) rounded out the Daemen scorers with a 26
th-place finish at 28:32.1.
HISTORICAL
Since gaining full NCAA status in 2015, the Wildcat women have historically done well running in the East Region Championships. The Wildcats finished 5th of 15 teams last year after placing three runners in the top 25 finishers along with a team score of 127. Bailey was the first Wildcat to cross the finish line, placing 18
th overall with a 6K PR of 22:40.88 to earn All-Region honors for the second year in a row. Fifth year senior
Hannah Thomas (Cheektowaga, N.Y.) crossed the finish line right behind Bailey, posting a 19
th-place finish with a PR time of 22:51.16 to earn All-Region honors. Oberholzer placed 23
rd overall with a PR time of 22:56.7 to earn All-Region honors for the first time in her career. Merrill finished 30
th with a time of 23:12.8 and
Emma Cain (Lockport, N.Y.) rounded out the Daemen scoring with a personal-best 35
th place finish, posting a 6K PR time of 23:34.67. The Wildcats are just two years removed from their run to the NCAA Division II National Championship in 2022 when they placed 3rd of 13 teams.
The men posted a historical fourth-place finish at the 2023 East Region Championships with a team score of 175 after placing two runners in the top-25. Moote posted a personal-best 20
th place finish with a PR 10K time of 32:05.49 to earn All-Region honors. His time ranks second fastest in the Daemen 10K record books since the program gained full NCAA Division II status in 2015.
CJ Johnson (Baltimore, Md.) raced in his first career 10K and placed 23
rd overall with a time of 32:16.23 to pick up All-Region honors. Senior
Connor O'Brien (Hamburg, N.Y.) placed 28
th overall with a PR time of 32:31.85. Kincaid finished 57
th overall with a PR time of 33:31.6. Keating rounded out the Daemen scoring with a 60
th-place finish at 33:42.79 in his first career 10K.
REGIONAL RANKINGS
The Wildcat men and women both got into the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) in the final regional rankings of the season. The Wildcat women
remain ranked second in the East Region for the third consecutive rankings, while the men climbed back into the rankings for the first time since week four and
come in at seventh in the East Region.
WOMEN'S 2024 SEASON AT A GLANCE
The Wildcat women have had a successful 2024 campaign, putting up two top-three finishes on the year after finishing third of six teams at the season opening Doug Watts Open on Sept. 7 and placing first out of five teams at their home meet, the Daemen Alumni Invitational on Sept. 14. The Wildcats went on to place 6th of 22 at the competitive Harry F. Anderson Invitational on Sept. 28, finishing 31st of 35 teams at the prestigious Paul Short Run on Oct. 5 and placing fifth of eight at the Canisius Alumni Invitational on Oct. 19 after pack running ahead of the ECC Championships. The Wildcat runners have posted 20 personal records this season and have been led by graduate student
Courtney Merrill (Speedway, Ind.) in four of the five meets. Merrill has earned ECC Runner of the Week three times this season. 2024 ECC Preseason Runner of the Year
Camryn Bailey led the Wildcats in the Doug Watts Open and has finished second on the team in three of the last four meets.
MEN'S 2024 SEASON AT A GLANCE
Daemen opened the season with back-to-back second place team finishes. The Wildcats were second of six teams at the Doug Watts Open 6K race to kick off the year on Sept. 7 and followed up with a second-place finish out of five teams at the Daemen Alumni Invitational on Sept. 14. Daemen finished 13th of 25 teams at the Harry F. Anderson Invitational on Sept. 28 and placed 35th of 58 at the Paul Short Run on Oct. 5. Working on speedwork in their final race before conference, the Wildcats placed 7th of 11 teams at the Canisius Alumni Classic last Saturday. Graduate student
Jon Moote and sophomore
Ethan Keating (Wooster, Ohio) have traded off first and second-place finishes on the team in the first four races, with Keating finishing first at the Doug Watts Open and setting a PR after crossing the finish line first on the team at the Harry F. Anderson Invitational. Moote led the Wildcats at the Daemen Alumni Invitational and Paul Short Run.
Aidan Kincaid (Orchard Park, N.Y.) finished first on the team at the Canisius Alumni Classic on Saturday.
WOMEN'S LINEUP
MEN'S LINEUP
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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