ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Ethan Keating (Wooster, Ohio), CJ Johnson (Baltimore, Md.) and Simon Evans (Galway, N.Y.) of the Daemen University men's cross country team all posted All-East Coast Conference performances to help lift the Wildcats to a second-place finish at the 2026 ECC Championships on Saturday.

Additionally, senior Brad Tobin (Hamburg, N.Y.) was named the 2026 Men's Cross Country Elite 20 Winner for holding the highest GPA in the championship.

Winning their 13^th consecutive title, host Roberts Wesleyan placed all five runners in the top seven to post a team total of 23. The Wildcats placed all five of their scoring runners in the top 16 today to post a second place total of 52. St. Thomas Aquinas placed third with 104 points. Molloy (112), Staten Island (128), D'Youville (161) and Queens (165) are the final teams in the race.

        
In his outstanding senior campaign, Keating paced the Wildcats finishing second out of 77 runners with a time of 25:13.3 to earn First Team All-ECC honors for the second straight year. After earning ECC Runner of the Year in 2025, Johnson placed eighth with a time of 26:25.1 to earn Second Team All-ECC honors. Evans placed third on the team and 14^th overall with a time of 27:07.8 to earn Second Team All-ECC honors.

Freshman Ryan Weller (Farmington, N.Y.) placed 16^th overall with a time of 27:14.6 in his first ECC Championship appearance. Completing his first race of the season, sophomore Ibrahim Hakizimana (Rochester, N.Y.) finished 23^rd with a time of 27:40.5. Sophomore Andre Kannisto (Boston, N.Y.) rounded out Daemen's scoring runners with a time of 28:13.3 to place 30^th overall.

Senior Brad Tobin (Hamburg, N.Y.) finished 31^st with a time of 28:18.8, followed by freshman Mike Gregoire (Amherst, N.Y.) at 29:37.2, good for a 45^th place finish. Sophomore Brendan Smukall (Buffalo, N.Y.) was the final Daemen runner across the line, placing 54^th with a time of 30:19.7.

The Wildcats are off for two weeks but return to action on Saturday, Nov. 21 at the NCAA Div. II East Region Championships in Farmingdale, N.Y. at the Bethpage Polo at the Park Course.