HOUGHTON, N.Y. -- The Daemen University men's cross country team placed fifth of 16 teams at the Highlander Invitational hosted at the Field of Dreams on Houghton University's campus. Fifth place ties the Wildcats' best team result of the season, equaling their mark at the Doug Watts Open on Sept. 6, however that event only featured 11 teams.
 
Full Results
 
The Wildcats posted a team score of 152 in the race, trailing RIT (46), Lock Haven (63), Misericordia (77) and Houghton (136). Out of the top 15 runners, representatives from eight separate schools were included.
 
Daemen junior CJ Johnson (Baltimore, Md.), as he did in the first two races of the season, paced the Wildcats, placing 14th out of 214 with an 8K time of 25:25.0, the second best time of Johnson's career and just shy of his 8K PR time of 25:21.1, which he set in his previous outing at the Harry F. Anderson Invitational on Sept. 27. Johnson's previous best time (25:42.6) was set at the 2023 Highlander Invitational.
 
Ethan Keating (Wooster, Ohio) finished second for the Wildcats for the third consecutive race and came 22nd overall with a PR time of 2:56.2, just beating his 25:57.6 which he set at the Harry F. Anderson Invitational in September, which was 25 seconds better than the junior's  previous 8K PR (26:22.5) set at the 2024 Harry F. Anderson Invitational.
 
Freshman Simon Evans (Galway, N.Y.) finished an impressive third for Daemen and 28th overall in his first collegiate 8K, posting a time of 26:07.9 and finishing third-highest among all freshmen competing in the event. Senior Josh Trometer (Lancaster, N.Y.) notched a career-best 8K time with a 27:12.0, eclipsing his previous PR of a 27.26.8 at the 2024 Harry F. Anderson Invitational. Trometer came fourth for Daemen and 66th overall. Freshman Ibrahim Hakizimana (Rochester, N.Y.) also set an 8K PR with a 27:16.9, topping his only other collegiate 8K time of 28:27.3. Hakizimana rounded out the Wildcats' scorers in 71st overall.
 
Junior Brad Tobin (Hamburg, N.Y.) placed 139th with an 8K PR  time of 28:53.9, nearly a minute quicker than his time at the Harry F. Anderson invitational. Senior Laertes Cushing also notched an 8K PR time of 29:04.4 in 142nd place
 
The Wildcats return to action on Oct. 18 at Noon in Buffalo for the Canisius Alumni Classic.

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 University cross country/track and field program on Twitter and Instagram at @DaemenXCTF.