CONTOOCOOK, N.H. -- The Daemen University men's cross country team placed sixth out of 17 teams at Saturday's NCAA Division II East Regional Championships. It was Daemen's 10th appearance in the event and third top 10 finish, all of which have come since 2022. The Wildcats improved from their mark of 11th last year. 
 
Full Results
 
Daemen posted a team score of 171 in the race., trailing team champion Southern Connecticut State (34), Roberts Wesleyan (106), Franklin Pierce (118), St. Michael's (141) and Jefferson (Pa.) (144). The Wildcats entered the event ranked fifth in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division II Regional Rankings.
 
East Coast Conference champion CJ Johnson (Baltimore, Md.) led the way for Daemen and finished seventh overall (112 total runners) with a 10K time of 32.18.87, adding an All-Region selection to his ledger following First Team All-ECC and ECC Most Outstanding Runner honors earned at last month's ECC Championships. Johnson, who missed last year's Regional Championships due to injury, received All-Region recognition for the second time in his career, along with 2023 when he finished 23rd.
 
The junior is the second male Daemen runner to place in the top 10 of the individual standings at a Regional Championship meet, along with Kevin Roginson who finished sixth in 2016.
 
Junior Ethan Keating (Wooster, Ohio) placed 16th overall and second among Daemen runners with a 10k personal best time of 32:56.25. Along with Johnson, Keating was also named an All-Region selection, the junior's first of his career. He became the fourth Daemen male to achieve the feat, along with Johnson, Roginson and Jon Moote. Keating was also a First Team All-ECC performer this season.
 
Freshman Simon Evans (Galway, N.Y.), another First Team All-ECC runner, posted a 33:47.05 in his first collegiate 10K race, good enough for 34th overall and third among the Wildcats competing. Fellow freshman Ibrahim Hakizimana (Rochester, N.Y.) notched a 34:29.43 in his maiden collegiate 10K, good enough for 51st overall.
 
Senior Josh Trometer (Lancaster, N.Y.) improved two places to 68th compared to last year's Regional Championships, crossing the line in 68th with a 35:12.20. Graduate student Laertes Cushing (Alfred, N.Y.) followed in 94th with a 10K PR time of 37:54.46 and junior Brad Tobin (Hamburg, N.Y.) was 97th (38:03.23), improving 25 spots from last year's Regional Championships. 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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