COLONIA, N.J. – Nine-time defending champion Roberts Wesleyan topped the 2024 ECC Women's Cross Country Preseason Poll, as voted on by the league's eight head coaches and announced on Tuesday afternoon. Looking to make some noise and lead their respective squads to the conference crown, Daemen graduate student Camryn Bailey (Geneva, N.Y.) and St. Thomas Aquinas sophomore Zoe Merryman (Mahwah, N.J.) were selected the 2024 ECC Women's Cross Country Preseason Co-Runners of the Year.
Roberts Wesleyan earned six of seven first-place votes for 62 total points. Led by reigning ECC Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year Andrew Dorr, the Redhawks return a trio of All-ECC First Team finishers in 2023 Runner of the Year Acacia Barber (1st), Rachel Horner-Richardson (2nd), and Kylee Odell (3rd), who swept the top three spots in last year’s championship, as well as All-ECC Second Team performer Lydia Roselund.
After finishing second in each of the last three championship races, Daemen earned two first-place votes and 56 points to finish second in the poll. The Wildcats return All-ECC First Team selection Bailey (7th) as well as the All-ECC Second Team trio of Patsy Oberholzer (10th), Courtney Merrill (11th), and Emma Cain (13th) as the Wildcats set their sights on their first-ever ECC title this fall.
ECC Preseason Co-Runner of the Year Bailey raced in all seven of Daemen’s meets last year, posting three top-10 finishes. She set a career-best 5k time at ECCs (18:58.8) and went on to earn USTFCCCA All-East Region honors for the second straight season after placing 19th at the 2023 NCAA Division II East Region Championship with a career-best 6k time of 22:40.9.
An impressive showing in last year’s championship landed D’Youville in the third spot with 50 points, and All-ECC First Team finishers Lainie Smith (4th) and Lydia Smith (6th) both return to lead the Saints this year.
Separated by just one point, Molloy earned the edge over St. Thomas Aquinas to take the fourth spot in the preseason poll with 36 points. Returning Lion Kathleen Healy finished one spot - and under four seconds - out of All-ECC honors last fall with a 15th-place showing at the championship meet.
St. Thomas Aquinas rounded out the preseason top five with 35 points. In just her second season, Merryman will be expected to lead the Spartans after a dazzling fifth-place finish for 2023 ECC Rookie of the Year accolades last fall. The ECC Preseason Co-Runner of the Year raced in all seven of STAC’s meets last year, recording four top-10 finishes. She set a career-best 5k at ECCs (18:54.2) before earning USTFCCCA All-East Region honors with a 21st-place finish at the 2023 NCAA Division II East Region Championship with a career-best 6k time of 22:52.0.
2024 ECC Women's Cross Country Preseason Poll
1. Roberts Wesleyan (62 points, 6 first-place votes)
2023 ECC Finish – 1st
2. Daemen (56 points, 2 first-place votes)
2023 ECC Finish – 2nd
3. D'Youville (50 points)
2023 ECC Finish – 3rd
4. Molloy (36 points)
2023 ECC Finish – 5th
5. St. Thomas Aquinas (35 points)
2023 ECC Finish – 4th
6. District of Columbia (21 points)
2023 ECC Finish – 6th
7. Queens (18 points)
2023 ECC Finish – 7th
8. Staten Island (10 points)
2023 ECC Finish – 8th
2024 ECC Preseason Co-Runners of the Year: Camryn Bailey, Gr., Daemen and Zoe Merryman, So., St. Thomas Aquinas