Runners of the Week
Men’s Runner of the Week
Jack Bowman (St. Thomas Aquinas)
Fr., Saskatchewan, Canada, Suffern High School
Bowman helped lead his team to a runner up finish in the men's 6k at the SUNY Purchase Invitational on Saturday. The STAC freshman crossed the finish line in a time of 19:59.1, good for second place among a field of 110 runners.
Men’s Rookie of the Week
Darren Coyle (St. Thomas Aquinas)
Fr., Congers, NY, Suffern High School
Coyle helped to lead his team to a runner up finish in the men's 6k at the SUNY Purchase Invitational on Saturday. The STAC freshman crossed the finish line in a time of 21:43.7, good for 16th among a field of 110 runners.
Women’s Runner of the Week
Adriana Roa (College of Staten Island)
So., Farmingville, NY, Sachem East High School
Opened the 2026 campaign with a first overall finish (out of 54 runners) at the Back to the Bowl Invitational, which included Division I institutions, when she finished at a time of 20:18.1. Roa aided in the third place overall finish of eight teams.
Women’s Rookie of the Week
Giuliana Fodor (Roberts Wesleyan University)
Fr., Eden, NY, Eden High School
Freshman Giuliana Fodor put together a solid finish at the Hamilton College Short Course race over the weekend as she placed 14th overall (114 runners) with a time of 15:44.9 at the 4K event.
Weekly Honor Roll
Peter Bagattine (Molloy)
Sr., Bay Shore, NY
Peter Bagattine ran a career best of 16:52.4 in the 5k course where he placed 20th out of 121 at the University of Hartford XC Invitational helping Molloy secure the 8th place team finish. He also placed in the top 5 amongst all the seniors at the meet.
Trever Heitkamp (Roberts Wesleyan)
Jr., Fort Recovery, OH, Fort Recovery High School
Junior Trevor Heitkamp led a pack of runners for Roberts Wesleyan past the finish line as the Redhawks placed second overall at the Hamilton College Short Course Invitational. Heitkamp clocked a 16:25.7 time on the 5K course for 14th place overall to lead Roberts.
Charles Matzke (Roberts Wesleyan)
Jr., Glencoe, MN,
Junior Charles Matzke was the third finisher for Roberts as four runners crossed the line within a tenth of a second at the Hamilton College Short Course Invitational over the weekend. He had a time of 16:25.8 as Roberts finished together for a second place overall team finish.
Garret Tracy (Roberts Wesleyan)
Fr., Conneaut, OH, Edgewood High School
Freshman Garret Tracy rounded out the scoring for the Roberts men at the Hamilton College Short Course meet over the weekend. His time of 16:29.3 over the 5K distance was good enough for 18th place overall (141 runners) andhelped the Redhawks to a second-place team finish.
Jakob Zibbel (Roberts Wesleyan)
Jr., Bloomdale, OH, Elmwood High School
Junior Jakob Zibbel was the second finisher for Roberts as the team raced to a second-place finish as a team at the Hamilton College Short Course Invitational over the weekend. Zibbel raced to a 15th-place finish with a time of 16:25.7 (just a fraction of a second behind teammate Trevor Heitkamp).
Mackenzie Donovan (St. Thomas Aquinas)
So., New Rochelle, NY, New Rochelle High School
Donovan lead her team to a first place finish finish in the women's 4k at the SUNY Purchase Invitational on Saturday. The STAC grad student crossed the finish line in a time of 15:27.9, good for first place among a field of 93 runners.
Michaela Goettel (Roberts Wesleyan)
So., North Chili, NY, Churchville-Chili High School
Sophomore Michaela Goettel was the third scoring runner for Roberts and the seventh overall as she finished the 4K race in 15:27.3 to help the Redhawks take first place overall in the team finish.
Paige Moore (Roberts Wesleyan)
Jr., Denver, PA, Cocalico High School
Junior Paige Moore had a strong finish at the Hamilton College Short Course Invitational and placed fourth overall (114 runners) to help the Redhawks to a first-place team finish. Her time of 15:21.8 was fourth as she surged ahead of a pack of six runners down the stretch.
Evelyn Schmit (Roberts Wesleyan)
Jr., Grafton, WI, Grafton High School
Junior Evelyn Schmit led a strong Roberts finish at the Hamilton College Short Course event over the weekend. Schmit finished second overall in 14:57.6 (4K race) and led the Redhawks to the top team finish with 32 points and five runners among the top-10 finishers in the race. The time was 10 seconds off her previous 4K best set last year at the same event when she finished 10th overall.
2026 ECC Cross Country Weekly Award Winners
Men’s Runner of the Week
Sep. 8 – CJ Johnson (Daemen)
Sep. 15 – Jack Bowman (St. Thomas Aquinas)
Men’s Rookie of the Week
Sep. 8 – Jack Bowman (St. Thomas Aquinas)
Sep. 15 – Darren Coyle (St. Thomas Aquinas)
Women’s Runner of the Week
Sep. 8 – Barbara Kunz (D’Youville)
Sep. 15 – Adriana Roa (College of Staten Island)
Women’s Rookie of the Week
Sep. 8 – Jordyn Cruz (Queens)
Sep. 15 – Giuliana Fodor (Roberts Wesleyan)
2026 ECC Men's Cross Country Preseason Poll
1. Roberts Wesleyan - 48 points (6 first-place votes)
2. Daemen - 40 points (1 first-place vote)
3. Molloy - 33 points
4. St. Thomas Aquinas - 30 points
5. D'Youville - 18 points
6. Queens - 13 points
7. Staten Island - 12 points
2026 ECC Women's Cross Country Preseason Poll
1. Roberts Wesleyan - 64 points (8 first-place votes)
2. Molloy - 54 points
3. D'Youville - 47 points
4. Daemen - 42 points
5. St. Thomas Aquinas - 26 points
6. Queens - 25 points
7. Staten Island - 21 points
8. District of Columbia - 9 points
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Founded as the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference in 1989 and rechristened the East Coast Conference in July 2006, the ECC was formed to enhance intercollegiate athletic competition among member institutions and to assist them in integrating athletics into their academic program in a fiscally sound way. The ECC is committed to the highest standards of scholarship, sportsmanship, teamwork, and citizenship. Its mission is to promote the total person concept in its student-athletes, which stresses the abilities to excel in academic achievement, athletic competition, and positive character traits. East Coast Conference members include: Daemen University (Amherst, N.Y.); University of the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.); D'Youville University (Buffalo, N.Y.); Mercy University (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.); Molloy University (Rockville Centre, N.Y.); Queens College (Flushing, N.Y.); Roberts Wesleyan University (Rochester, N.Y.); College of Staten Island (Staten Island, N.Y.); and St. Thomas Aquinas College (Sparkill, N.Y.). The ECC also is home to 13 associate members in the sports of women’s bowling (3), men’s and women’s indoor track & field (3), men's volleyball (2), field hockey (1), and men’s lacrosse (1).
The ECC sponsors the following championship sports: baseball; men’s and women’s basketball; women's bowling; men’s and women’s cross country; field hockey; men’s and women’s lacrosse; men’s and women’s indoor track and field; men’s and women’s outdoor track and field; men’s and women’s soccer; softball; and men's and women’s volleyball.
The East Coast Conference is a proud member of the NCAA and Division II. Division II is a dynamic and engaging group of colleges, institutions and conferences of varying sizes and educational missions. Division II members encourage and support diversity; value sportsmanship, fairness and equity; and place the highest priority on the overall educational excellence of the student-athlete.