Elon Phoenix Set for CAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships

ELON, N.C. – The Elon University women’s track and field team begins postseason competition this weekend at the 2018 Colonial Athletic Association Outdoor Track and Field Championships, hosted on the campus of William & Mary. The two-day meet kicks off this Friday, May 4, and continues through the finals on Saturday, May 5, at Zable Stadium.

Live Results | Meet HQ | Schedule

Follow the Phoenix
Fans can keep up with the action of the Phoenix at the CAA Championships with live results from the program’s schedule page at elonphoenix.com. Updates will also be provided on Twitter at the program’s handle, @EU_XCTF.

The 2018 CAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
This weekend, the Phoenix will compete in its fourth CAA championship since joining the league in 2015. The meet returns to William & Mary for the first time since 2015 when Elon earned its first-ever conference championship as the Phoenix will look to earn its third league title out of the past four seasons after earning a runner-up finish last season.

Towson returns as the defending champion on the women’s side after edging out the maroon and gold for the CAA title last season and halted the Phoenix’s run for a three-peat. The Tigers posted 163.5 points as the 2017 championships as Elon scored 158 points. James Madison was third with 140 points with Delaware (108.5) and William & Mary (105) rounding out the top-five scores.

Elon Prelims
• Heading into the meet this weekend, Elon has the top performances in two events in the CAA according to Track & Field Results and Reporting System (TFRRS). Coralea Geraniotis (5,000-meters) and Bryanna Hames (discus) are the current league-leaders in their respective events.
• Additionally, the Phoenix has 28 athletes that sit in the top-eight of their respective events in the CAA including eight in the top-three. Elon’s 4×100-meter and 4×400-meter relay teams also sit in the top-three in the league.
• Elon earned four individual league championships last season with Emily Dixon being the lone returner from that group in the heptathlon. The Bath, England, native earned her third straight title in the multi-events and will aim to be the sixth women in league history to become a four-time champion in the same event.
• Dixon (heptathlon), Hames (discus and shot put), Skylar Barthelmes (javelin) and Bre’anna Warren (discus) are the Phoenix’s individual All-CAA performers from last season. Katie Arbogast, Lauren Brzozowski, Meagan Henderson and Desiree Ross also returns as the quartet for Elon’s league champion 4×400-meter relay team.
• Hames will be in contention for the CAA title in a couple of events this weekend in the discus and the shot put. The Charlotte, N.C., native won the discus crown as a freshman in 2015 and has finished as the runner-up the past two season. She leads the CAA in the discus with her season-best throw of 170′ 11″ (52.11m).
• Warren is also in contention for the CAA title in both the discus and the shot put also. The Greensboro, N.C., native is second to Hames in the discus with a personal-best mark of 167′ 4″ (51.01m) as the two are the only athletes with a throw better than 50 meters in the league.
• Geraniotis leads the CAA in the 5,000-meters with her school-record time of 16:19.47 – nearly 30-seconds faster than the next competitor. Senior Brigid Brennan is also in the top-three in the event with her personal-record time of 17:22.83.
• Elon has seen 14 new marks on the program’s all-time top-five outdoor performance list so far this season including two new school-records.
• Freshman Gabriela Varisco de Oliveira became the fourth athlete for the Phoenix this season to earn CAA weekly accolades this past Tuesday, May 1. Varisco de Oliveira was named the league’s Women’s Track Athlete of the Week after setting a new personal-record in the 800-meters with a time of 2:11.63 at the UVA Grand Prix last Saturday. That time is the fourth-fastest in school history.

Other Events to Watch
• Women’s Javelin: Barthelmes finished second last season at the CAAs in the javelin throw and is currently fifth in the league this season with her best throw of 134′ 5″ (40.98m).
• Women’s 1,500-meters: Elon has had an athlete win the 1,500-meters in two of the past three seasons at the CAA Championships and enters this weekend with two athletes ranked in the top-four of the league this season. Melissa Anastasakis is fourth in the CAA with her time of 4:25.29 – the second-fastest time in school history. Geraniotis is fourth with a time of 4:25.53 – the third-best performance in school history.
• 800-meters: The Phoenix also has had a winner take the CAA 800-meters crown in two of the past three seasons. Elon has four athletes sitting in the top eight of the league in the event with Anastasakis the Phoenix’s top runner with her time of 2:11.24 – the second-fastest time in school history. Natacha Savioz is right behind her with her time 2:11.53 – third-best in school history.
• 400-meters: The duo of Arbogast and Brzozowski look to compete for the CAA title in the 400-meters this weekend. Both athletes are in the top-five in the league in the event with Arbogast third with her personal-record of 55.35 and Brzozowski next with a time of 55.89.

On Deck
The Phoenix will have select athletes compete at the Aggie Last Chance meet on May 13, for a final shot to qualify for the NCAA East Region Preliminaries.