Cross Country Readies for Elon Invitational

ELON, N.C. – Coming off a good showing in their season opener last week, the Elon University cross country programs host their second meet of the season, the eighth annual Elon Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 10. The men’s 8K is slated for a 10 a.m. start followed by the women’s 5K at 11 a.m. at the Elon cross country course.

Follow @EU_XCTF
Updates of the meet will be posted on Twitter at the programs’ handle, @EU_XCTF. Other updates will also be provided at the handle, @elonscores.

About the Field
Elon will be joined at the meet by teams from North Carolina A&T, North Carolina Central, Averett, Ferrum and Fayetteville State.

Elon Opener Recap
The Phoenix men and women harriers had strong individual and team outings in their season opener at the Elon Opener last Thursday, Sept. 1. The women’s squad finished second overall in the 4K race with 40 points behind North Carolina’s 23. Senior Kimberly Johansen was the top finisher for the Phoenix as the Chelmsford, England, native clocked a time of 14:16 in the 4K race and was third overall behind a pair of runners from UNC. First-year Sophia Tasselmyer was fourth with a time of 14:21 in her first collegiate race.

In the men’s race, Elon’s Nick Ciolkowski took individual medalist honors with his win in the 6K run. The Fairport, N.Y., native had a time of 18:32 – over 20 seconds faster than the runner-up – while also edging out a pair of runners from UNC in the top-10.

Ciolkowski Named CAA Men’s Runner of the Week
Ciolkowski was rewarded as the Colonial Athletic Association Men’s Cross Country Runner of the Week for his performance in his first meet of the year. Picking up where he left off when he became the first athlete to capture the CAA Men’s Athlete and Rookie of the Year awards, Ciolkowski won his third career race overall with his victory last week. It was his first win since earning the CAA individual men’s title last fall at the league championships.

Up Next
Following Elon Invitational, select members of the Phoenix will race at the Adidas XC Challenge hosted by NC State. That meet is scheduled on Sept. 16.