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Camryn Bailey and Courtney Merrill race to an 8th and 9th place finish at the East Region Championships
Mary Margaret Johnson

Nationals Bound! Wildcats Clinch NCAA Bid With Third Place Finish At East Regionals

11/9/2024 2:44:00 PM

By: CONTACT: Mary Margaret Johnson, Director of Athletics Communications | mmjohnso@daemen.edu
AMHERST, N.Y. -- The dynamic duo of graduate students Courtney Merrill (Speedway, Ind.) and Camryn Bailey (Geneva, N.Y.) led the Daemen University women's cross country team to a third place team finish at the NCAA Division II East Region Championships on Saturday morning. For the second time in three seasons, the Wildcats will be headed to race in the NCAA Division II National Championships after clinching an automatic bid as one of the top three teams to finish in the region. The East Region of the NCAA Division II is comprised of teams affiliated with the East Coast Conference, the Northeast-10 Conference and the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference. Roberts Wesleyan hosted the regional meet at the Matt St. James Cross Country Trails on the Redhawks' campus.

Daemen placed two runners in the top 10 finishers and totaled 118 points in their third-place team finish. It ties a program-best finish at regionals back in 2022 when the Wildcats finished third in the region and advanced to the National Championships for the first time in program history. 

Two weeks after clinching their 10th consecutive ECC Championship title, host Roberts Wesleyan won the East Regional after placing four of their top five runners in the top-15 finishers to post a team score of 71. Southern Connecticut State posted a score of 107 after placing the fourth and fifth place runners. Merrill and Bailey placed eighth and ninth, respectively, and led the Wildcats to a third place team finish with the final automatic bid.

Bentley's Caitlin Burmester paced the field of 135 with a time of 21:52.9 to earn an automatic bid to Nationals along with Southern New Hampshire's Corrina Obernesser (3rd) as the first two runners not on one of the top three teams to finish in the race.

Full Results | Photo Gallery

HIGHLIGHTS
  • Merrill and Bailey both earned All-Region honors from the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) after finishing in the top-25 today. 
  • Merrill was the first Wildcat across the line for the sixth straight meet, posting a career-best eighth place finish out of 135 runners with a 6K PR time of 22:14.5. Merrill shaved 33 seconds off her previous 6K PR (22:47.9) set at the Paul Short Run on Oct. 5. She earned All-Region honors for the second time in her Daemen career.
  • Bailey posted a career-best finish today, crossing the line right after Merrill with a ninth place finish with a time of 22:15.7 for a PR, shaving 25 seconds off her previous best (22:40.88) set at the 2023 East Region Championships. Bailey earned All-Region honors for the third consecutive season.
  • Junior Christa Oates (Tonawanda, N.Y.) was the third Wildcat across the line, placing 27th overall with a PR time of 23:01.5. Oates' time was nearly a minute faster than her previous 6K best time (23:51.9) set at the Paul Short Run on Oct. 5.
  • Junior Patsy Oberholzer (Greece, N.Y.) finished just 18 seconds behind Oates with a 30th-place finish and a time of 23:18.7.
  • Graduate student Emma Grzebinski (West Seneca, N.Y.) finished fifth on the team for the second consecutive meet to round out the Daemen scorers with a PR time of 23:51.4. It marked the first sub-24 minute 6K time for the grad student as Grzebinski shaved over 30 seconds faster than her previous best (24:26.5) set at the Oct. 5 Paul Short Run. 
  • Senior Emma Cain (Lockport, N.Y.) posted a time of 24:05.5 to place 52nd overall on the day.
  • Freshman Lia Brasacchio (Victor, N.Y.) was the seventh Daemen runner today, placing 57th overall in her first East Region Championship with a PR time of 24:17.6, 16 seconds faster than her previous best (24:33.6) at the Paul Short Run. 
UP NEXT
The Wildcats will race at the 2024 NCAA Division II National Championships on Saturday, Nov. 23 in Sacramento, Calif. at the Arcade Creek Cross Country Course. 
 


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.

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