Elon Cross Country Set for Greater Louisville Classic

ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men’s and women’s cross country programs are back in action this Saturday, Oct. 3, to compete at the Greater Louisville Classic at the E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park. The men’s gold 8K race opens at 9:30 a.m. while the women’s 5K run begins at 10:15 a.m.

About the Greater Louisville Classic
The meet will feature five nationally ranked teams on the men’s side while the women’s race will have six ranked teams. This will be the 14th annual Greater Louisville Classic with the races being competed on the course at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park, which is also the home of the NCAA Pre-Nationals (Oct. 17) and the NCAA Championships (Nov. 21).

Last Time Out
The Phoenix women’s cross country team last competed at the adidas XC Challenge on Sept. 18, in Cary, N.C. Elon finished third overall at the meet with 87 points behind host and nationally ranked NC State (18) and regionally ranked Duke (48), but edged out fellow in-state rival and nationally ranked North Carolina (99) in the standings.

Bierut Named CAA Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Week
Senior Elyse Bierut was named the Colonial Athletic Association Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Week last Tuesday, Sept. 22. The Rocky River, Ohio, native was 13th overall in the women’s 5K race and clocked in a time of 17:30.8 – just five seconds from her own school-record. It was the second CAA weekly honor for Bierut in her career and her third conference weekly award overall.

About Elon
Junior Shelby Cuddeback continued her strong start to the season with a 16th-place finish at the adidas XC Challenge. The Attleboro, Mass., native set a new personal-best in the 5K race with a time of 17:36.5, now the fourth-best performance in school history.

The maroon and gold men last competed at its annual home meet, the Elon Invitational, on Saturday, Sept. 12. Sophomore Same Geha was the men’s top runner in the race, finishing as the runner-up overall with a personal-best time of 26:08 in the 8K race.

The Phoenix has been receiving strong contributions from its first-year class. Rookie Nick Ciolkowski was third overall at the Phoenix Invitational with a time of 26:10 and was named the CAA Men’s Cross Country Runner of the Week on Sept. 8. The Fairport, N.Y., native earned the win in his collegiate debut, the Phoenix Open, with a time of 18:33 in the 5K race and became just the fifth runner in program history to earn individualist’s honors in a race.

Up Next
A few members of the team will competed at the Wake Forest Meet on Oct. 16, while the remainder of the Phoenix will head back to Louisville for the NCAA Pre-Nationals the follow day, Oct. 17.