ROCHESTER, NY – The Roberts Wesleyan women’s cross country squad won the 2024 NCAA Division II East Region Championship 6k race on its home course of the Matt St. James Cross Country Trail in Rochester, NY late Saturday morning. The Daemen women’s cross country squad finished third, as both the Redhawks and Wildcats clinched automatic bids for the 2024 NCAA Division II Championship at Haggin Oaks Golf Complex in Sacramento, CA on November 23 as two of the top three teams to finish in the region.
Results
Led by RWU junior Rachel Horner-Richardson’s second-place finish (22:02.5) in the overall field of 135, the Redhawks placed four runners in the top 13 to take the top spot in a field of 19 teams. Senior Kylee Odell (7th, 22:14.1), junior Lydia Roselund (10th, 22:16.4), and freshmen Paige Reeser (13th, 22:28.7) and Evelyn Schmit (39th, 23:44.7) rounded out the scoring for the Redhawks while junior Gianna Tribotte (53rd, 24:13.7) and freshman Kennedy Mitchell (24:26.0) finished as RWU’s No. 6 and No. 7 runners.
The regional championship is the second for Roberts Wesleyan, having also won in 2014. The Redhawks accumulated 71 points to defeat Southern Connecticut State by 36 points and have now qualified for nationals for 10 consecutive seasons.
For the second time in three seasons, the Wildcats will be heading to NCAAs after turning in a third-place team finish with 118 points, defeating fourth-place Bentley by seven.
The dynamic duo of graduate students Courtney Merrill (22:14.5) and Camryn Bailey (22:15.7) finished eighth and ninth, respectively, followed by juniors Christa Oates (27th, 23:01.5), Patsy Oberholzer (23:18.7), and Emma Grzebinski (44th, 23:51.4). Senior Emma Cain (51st, 24:05.5) and freshman Lia Brasacchio (56th, 24:17.6) finished as Daemen’s No. 6 and No. 7 runners.
The performance ties a program-best finish at regionals back in 2022, when the Wildcats finished third in the region and advanced to NCAAs for the first time in program history.
Also representing the ECC were Molloy (5th, 170 points), D'Youville (8th, 203 points), St. Thomas Aquinas (13th, 330 points), and Staten Island (19th, 588 points).
In all, 10 ECC student-athletes earned NCAA All-Region honors: Rachel Horner-Richardson (RWU, 2nd), Lainie Smith (DYU, 6th), Kylee Odell (RWU, 7th), Courtney Merrill (DAE, 8th), Camryn Bailey (DAE, 9th), Lydia Roselund (RWU, 10th), Paige Reeser (RWU, 13th), Lydia Smith (DYU, 17th), Sabrina Spezia (MOL, 18th), Carli Sheiffele (MOL, 21st).