Men's Cross Country | 11/5/2026 2:16:00 PM

Meet #5: East Coast Conference Championships
Date: Saturday, Nov. 7 | Rochester, N.Y. | Matt St. James Cross Country Course
Start Times: Women's 5K - 10 AM | Men's 8K - 11 AM
Live Timing

CHAMPIONSHIP TIME
The Daemen University men's and women's cross country teams will compete in the 2026 East Coast Conference Championships on Saturday, Nov. 7 in Rochester, N.Y. at the Matt St. James Cross Country Course on the campus of Roberts Wesleyan. The women's 5K championship will run at 10 AM, followed by the men's 8K championship at 11 AM. 

LAST MEET
The Wildcat men and women competed at the Canisius Alumni Classic on Oct. 17 in their last meet before conference.

The men finished eighth out of 13 teams with a team score of 204. One week after breaking Daemen's NCAA era (2015-present) 8K record, senior Ethan Keating (Wooster, Ohio) placed 17th out of 139 runners with a time of 25:18.3 to pace the Wildcats. Senior CJ Johnson (Baltimore, Md.) placed second on the team and 29th overall with a time of 25:35.2. Finishing third on the team for the fourth consecutive meet, sophomore Simon Evans (Galway, Ind.) posted a time of 26:22.3 to place 42nd. Freshman Ryan Weller (Farmington, N.Y.) posted a PR time of 27:00.3, finishing 57th overall and beating his previous PR (27:10.0 set at the Harry F. Anderson Invitational on Sept. 26) by 10 seconds. Sophomore Andre Kannisto (Boston, N.Y.) finished 85th overall with a PR time of 28:16.8 to round out the Daemen scoring runners. Kannisto's PR was 18 seconds faster than his previous best (28:34.2 set Oct. 10 at the Highlander Invitational). 

Freshman Michael Gregoire (Amherst, N.Y.) and senior Brad Tobin (Hamburg, N.Y.) finished 98th and 99th, respectively, with times of 29:00.8 and 29:06.2. Gregoire's time set a PR for the freshman, beating his previous best time (29:34.6 set at the Harry F. Anderson Invitational on Sept. 26) by 34 seconds. Sophomore Brendan Smukall (Buffalo, N.Y.) finished 117th with a time of 30:24.2. 

Racing just four runners on the women's side, Daemen did not post a team score which requires five scoring individuals on the team, but all four Daemen runners set personal bests on the course. Junior Lia Brasacchio (Victor, N.Y.) paced the Wildcats with a PR time of 19:03.1 to finish 18th out of 122 runners, shaving off over 35 seconds off her previous 5K PR (19:40.1 set at the Harry F. Anderson Invitational on Sept. 26). Freshman Julie Cruz (Williamsville, N.Y.) finished second on the team and 47th overall with a PR time of 19:56.3 in the race, 23 seconds faster than her 5K PR of 20:18.4 set at the Harry F. Invitational this season. Sophomore Raegan Giardini (West Clarksville, N.Y.) placed 51st overall and third out of the Wildcats, also setting a PR time of 20:04.1. Giardini shaved 50 seconds off her previous best (20:54.6 at the Sept. 26 Harry F. Anderson Invitational). Graduate student Alexis Nguyen (Grand Island, N.Y.) was the fourth and final Wildcat runner to cross the finish line, coming in 67th overall with a PR time of 20:46.0, 30 seconds faster than her 5K PR (21:14.0) set at the Harry F. Invitational.

MEN'S LINEUP

RUNNER	CANISIUS (FINISHING PLACE)	LAST SEASON @ ECC's (FINISHING PLACE)	PERSONAL BEST 8K TIME (DATE)
Simon Evans	26:22.3 (42/139)	27:34.4 (7/67)	26:07.9 (10/11/25)
Mike Gregoire	29:06.2 (99/139)*	N/A	29:06.2 (10/17/26)
CJ Johnson	25:35.2 (29/139)	26:24.8 (1/67)	25:21.1 (9/27/25)
Andre Kannisto	28:16.8 (85/139)*	30:40.1 (41/67)	28:16.8 (10/17/26)
Ethan Keating	25:18.3 (17/139)	27:03.3 (4/67)	24:59.4 (10/11/26)
Brendan Smukall	30:24.2 (117/139)	31:46.9 (48/67)	29:05.8 (9/26/26)
Brad Tobin	29:00.8 (98/139)	30:20.0 (34/67)	28:46.7 (10/10/26)
Ryan Weller	27:00.3 (57/139)*	N/A	27:00.3 (10/17/26)

* = PR time

WOMEN'S LINEUP

RUNNER	CANISIUS (FINISHING PLACE)	LAST SEASON @ ECC's (FINISHING PLACE)	PERSONAL BEST 5K TIME (DATE)
Lia Brasacchio	19:03.1 (18/122)*	20:18.0 (17/72)	19:03.1 (10/17/26)
Julie Cruz	19:56.3 (47/122)*	N/A	19:56.3 (10/17/26)
Raegan Giardini	20:04.1 (51/122)*	22:03.7 (40/72)	20:04.1 (10/17/26)
Alexis Nguyen	20:46.0 (67/122)*	N/A	20:46.0 (10/17/26)
Kylie Piekarski	N/A	20:45.1 (24/72)	19:37.5 (9/26/26)

* = PR time

UP NEXT
The Wildcats will compete in the 2026 NCAA Div. II East Region Championships on Saturday, Nov. 21 in Garden City, N.Y.