AMHERST, N.Y. -- Nine runners from the Daemen University men's and women's cross country teams have earned
All-Academic Honors and both teams have garnered All-Academic honors for the 2024 cross country season from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), as announced on Thursday afternoon. In order to qualify for All-Academic distinction, individual student athletes must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 on a 4.0 scale and finish in the top-30 percent of their respective regional championship meet, and teams must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale and compile a team score at their respective regional championship meet, among other qualifiers.
On the men's team, sophomore
Ethan Keating (Wooster, Ohio) and graduate student
Jon Moote (Wilson, N.Y.) earned All-Academic honors after their successes on the classroom and on the course in 2024.
Ethan Keating raced in all seven races for the Wildcats this season, finishing second on the team in three races, first on the team twice, and third in two races while posting two personal records. After placing 16th out of 68 runners at the East Coast Conference Championship, Keating posted a 10K PR with a time of 33:08.8 and a 40th-place finish at the Division II East Region Championships.
Racing in his graduate season,
Jon Moote earned Second Team All-ECC honors and raced in six of Daemen's seven races in 2024. He paced the Wildcats in two races, finished second on the team three times, and placed third on the team once. He finished 13th of 68 at the ECC Championship with a time of 27:07.7 to earn All-Conference honors for the third straight season and capped off the year by finishing 50th of 140 with a time of 33:24.3 at the East Region Championships.
The Wildcat men's team placed 11th of 18 teams at the East Region Championships.
All seven of the top scoring runners this season on the women's team earned All-Academic honors. Graduate student
Camryn Bailey (Geneva, N.Y.), freshman
Lia Brasacchio (Victor, N.Y.), senior
Emma Cain (Lockport, N.Y.), graduate student
Emma Grzebinski (West Seneca, N.Y.), graduate student
Courtney Merrill (Speedway, Ind.), junior
Christa Oates (Tonawanda, N.Y.) and junior
Patsy Oberholzer (Greece, N.Y.) all earned All-Academic honors this season.
Camryn Bailey raced in all eight meets this season, leading all Daemen runners twice, placing second on the team five times and placing fifth once. Bailey earned two PRs this season, finishing seventh out of 61 runners at the ECC Championships to earn First Team All-ECC honors for the second season. She turned in her best 6K time in her five year career with a ninth-place finish at the East Region Championships with a time of 22:15.7 and helped the Wildcats to a third-place finish at regionals and earned USTFCCCA All-Region honors for the second straight season. Racing at the NCAA Division II National Championships for the second time in three seasons, she led the Wildcats on the course with a 199th place finish out of 259 runners and turned in a time of 23:24.7.
Making an impact on the Wildcats in her freshman season,
Lia Brasacchio was one of Daemen's scoring runners in five races and finished in the top seven in all eight meets while totaling five personal records on the year. Brasacchio finished seventh on the team and 23rd of 61 runners at the ECC Championships with a time of 20:11.9. Racing in her second career 6K, she placed 57th of 135 runners with a PR time of 24:17.6 at the East Region Championships. Brasacchio raced in the NCAA Division II National Championships and finished 253rd with a time of 25:17.1.
Emma Cain put together a solid senior campaign and finished as one of Daemen's top five runners in three meets. She finished sixth on the team and 17th of 61 runners with a time of 19:45.5 at the ECC Championships. Cain turned in a 52nd place finish out of 135 runners with a time of 24:05.5 to finish sixth out of Daemen runners at the East Region Championships. Racing at Nationals for the second time in three seasons, Cain posted a personal-best finsh on the team, finishing third out of the Wildcat runners as she finished 239 of 259 with a time of 24:37.3 at the national championship meet.
Racing this season for the first time since 2022,
Emma Grzebinski finished as one of Daemen's top five scoring runners in three races and posted three PRs on the year. She finished fifth on the team and 16th out of 61 runners with a 5K PR time of 19:50.2 at the ECC Championships. The graduate student turned in her second consecutive PR at the East Region Championships as she placed 44th of 135 and fifth on the team with a time of 23:51.4. Racing in Nationals for the first time in her career, Grzebinski finished sixth on the team at the National Championships with a time of 25:10.5 to finish 249 out of 259.
Courtney Merrill finished first on the team in six of eight races this season, posted four top-10 finishes, earned First Team All-ECC honors, earned USTFCCCA All-Region honors for the second year in a row, and finished with a PR in four races. She placed sixth out of 61 runners with a time PR time of 18:34.3 at the ECC Championships. The next week, Merrill again led the Wildcats with a career-best eighth place finish out of 135 and posted a 6K personal best time of 22:14.5 at the East Region Championships to earn All-Region for the second consecutive season. She finished off her graduate student season placing second on the team with a time of 23:37.3 after placing 211th out of 259 at the NCAA National Championships.
In her second season as a Wildcat and her first full season,
Christa Oates set a PR in six out of eight meets this season and finished as one of Daemen's top five runners in all eight races, finishing in third five times, fourth twice and fifth once. Oates placed 11th out of 135 runners and earned Second Team All-ECC honors after posting a 5K PR time of 19:19.9 to finish third on the year. The junior finished 37th out of 135 with a 6K PR time of 23:01.5, placing third on the team at the East Region Championships. Oates wrapped up her junior campaign running at the NCAA Division II National Championships as she placed 248th of 259 runners with a time of 25:05.2 to place fifth on the team.
Patsy Oberholzer posted an All-ECC season for the second consecutive year while finishing as one of Daemen's top five runners in six of eight races. The junior placed 12h of 61 runners and fourth on the team with a time of 19:23.3 at the ECC Championships. The next week, Oberholzer finished fourth on the team and 30th of 135 runners with a time of 23:18.7 at the East Region Championships. Racing in the NCAA Division II National Championships for the first time, Oberholzer placed 247th out of 259 with a time of 25:01.3 to place fourth out of Daemen runners at Nationals.
The Wildcat women placed third out of 19 teams at the East Region Championships to punch their ticket to the NCAA Division II National Championships for the second time in three seasons where they finished 34th of 34 teams in the race in Sacramento, Ca.
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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