Elon Cross Country Returns to Action at Royals XC Challenge

ELON, N.C. – The Elon University cross country programs return to action on Friday, Oct. 11, racing at the Royals Cross Country Challenge hosted by Queens University. The meet is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. with the women’s 5K followed by the men’s 8K at McAlpine Creek Park.

Follow @ElonXCTF
Updates of the meet will be posted on the teams’ social media pages on Twitter and Instagram at the handle, @ElonXCTF. Live results are also available on the team’s schedule page at elonphoenix.com.

About the Field
There will be a representative from about 58 schools on the men’s and women’s side at the meet. Some of the notable Division I programs the Phoenix will face at the meet includes Duke, Applachian State, Wofford, Davidson, UNCW, Radford, Furman and Wake Forest.

In Competition
• Elon is slated to have six women compete at the meet this Friday. Grace Dellapa, Ashley Irby, Sami King, Lauren Lynch, Hannah Miller and Emily Smith.
• On the men’s side, the five person-group to represent the Phoenix will include Tamer Metwalli, Dillon Selfors, Mitchell Shannon, Aidan Tierney and Kieran Ungemach.

Last Time Out
The Phoenix’s last race came at the UVA Panorama Farms Invitational on Sept. 27, the site of the NCAA Southeast Regional Championships. The Elon women had a strong showing at the meet, finishing with 143 points and a fourth-place standing over other notable teams like host Virginia, Liberty, Florida and William & Mary.

Scolasticah Kemei broke the school-record in the 6K with a time of 20:44 at the meet. She would finish sixth overall in the very competitive field. Kemei’s performance also earned her the Colonial Athletic Association Women’s Runner of the Week Award for the third time on Oct. 1. Newcomer Maria Ahm broke into the program’s top-10 performance list with her time of 21:24.2 and was 21st overall.

In the men’s 8K race, the maroon and gold men were 14th overall in the field with 419 points. For the third straight meet, Andrew Miller led the Phoenix as the sophomore came across the line in 56th overall with a time of 25:24.3. Senior Richie Kasper was next for Elon with his time of 26:22.1 followed by Connor White at 26:48.1.

Elon Women Ranked in USTFCCCA Regional Poll
Based off the team’s performance at the UVA Panorama Farms Invitational, the Phoenix women earned a No. 8 ranking in the latest Southeast Regional Poll by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). he eighth position is the highest regional ranking for the program during the regular season since being ranked ninth in 2016. Elon was also the highest-ranked team from the Colonial Athletic Association in the poll.

Up Next
The Phoenix closes out the regular season at the East Carolina Pirate Invitational on Oct. 18.