LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A top-15 finish for sophomore Nick Ciolkowski highlighted the Elon University cross country programs’ day at the Greater Louisville Classic on Saturday morning, Oct. 1, at the course at E.P. Tom Sawyer Park.
Men’s 8K results | Women’s 5K results
The Phoenix women finished 10th overall out of 36 teams at the meet while the maroon and gold men were 29th.
Ciolkowski clocked a 24:15 in the men’s 8K gold race setting a new personal-best for the Fairport, N.Y., native as he was 12th overall. Richie Kasper was the next male runner to follow for the Phoenix with his season-best time of 26:00.49 while Justin Leopold followed with a 26:15.58, also a new personal-best. Michael Geminario clocked a 26:26.52 for the Phoenix to round out the top four spots.
In the women’s race, Kimberly Johansen was the top female harrier for Elon as she finished in the top-25 with a time of 17:23.40 in the 5K run. Coralea Geraniotis was next to follow for the Phoenix with a time of 17:51.00 with Brigid Brennan next with a 17:53.80. Shelby Cuddeback came in with a time of 18:06.70 while Carolyn Hopkins concluded the top-five scores with her time of 18:15.30.
Quotable
“The men ran a solid race and we saw a lot of personal-bests in the group,” said Elon head cross country coach Nick Polk. “Nick Ciolkowski went right up to the front and ran a tough, smart race. Our women have a lot of work to do in the next month leading up to the (Colonial Athletic Association) Championships. We didn’t race together, were too timid and never put ourselves in a good position from the start.”
Up Next
Majority of the team will compete at the High Point VertKlasse XC Invitational on Friday, Oct. 14 while select members of the squad head to the NCAA Pre-Nationals the following day in Terre Haute, Ind.