Elon Cross Country: Women’s Cross Country Claims Second Straight CAA Title

WINNABOW, N.C. – The Elon University women’s cross country team won its second consecutive Colonial Athletic Association team title as the Phoenix cross country programs competed at the league’s championship meet on Friday, March 5, at the Old Fort Golf Course.

The Phoenix women took its second straight championship after scoring 35 points and had four runners finish in the top-10 of the 6K race. Northeastern was second with 86 points, while James Madison was third with 90. William & Mary (101), Delaware (109), College of Charleston (124), Hofstra (163) and host UNCW (222) rounded out the team scores on the women’s side.

Sophomore Maria Ahm won the CAA individual title in the 6K with a time of 19:37, which set a new CAA championship record in the 6K. Ahm became the third consecutive Elon female to claim the CAA individual title following Coralea Geraniotis (2018) and Scolasticah Kemei (2019). The Holbæk, Denmark, native was also named the Women’s Most Outstanding Performer of the Meet.

On the men’s side, the Phoenix was third overall in the 8K race with 76 points. Northeastern won the meet with 27 points while William & Mary was second overall with 65 points. Elon, Hofstra (98), College of Charleston (137) and UNCW (144) completed the team scoring for the men.

“Today was just the icing on the cake of a really challenging year,” said Elon head cross country coach Kevin Jermyn. “The hard work was getting here and since last March, we’ve done a tremendous amount of work on our own and I couldn’t be prouder of our athletes. Today is just a representation of what they have done for the last 12 months.”

Women’s Recap
• Four other Phoenix runners joined Ahm as All-CAA performers after finishing in the top-14 of the meet. Sophomore Maggie Springer was fourth overall with her time of 20:13.40 while Leandra Lorenz was seventh overall at a time of 20:22.10. Anna Twomey also finished in the top-10 of the race with her time of 20:29.30 while Hannah Preeo was 14th overall with a time of 20:40.10.
• Senior Bridget Kanaley finished just outside of medal competition with an 17th-place standing with her time of 20:44.70. Alexandra DeCicco was the seventh runner to cross the finish line for Elon in her 26th position and a time of 21:14.30.

Men’s Recap
• On the men’s side, sophomore Aidan Tierney paced the maroon and gold men with his time of 24:42.50 and earned All-CAA honors for the second straight year after coming in eighth overall.
• Andrew Miller was right behind Tierney with the Fleming Island, Fla., native finishing ninth overall and a time of 24:43.10. He would earn All-CAA accolades for the third straight season.
• Freshman Zane Jackson was the third runner to cross for Elon as the Charleston, S.C., native clocked a time of 25:37.80 and was 18th overall. Another freshman, Ethan Mimeles, was 19th at his time of 25:41.90.
• Tamer Metwalli rounded out the top-five scorers for the Phoenix with his time of 26:10.20 and was 22nd overall.

On Deck
Elon will await its fate for the postseason on Sunday, March 7, at 1 p.m. as the NCAA will announce its team and individual selections for the NCAA Cross Country Championships, held on March 15 in Stillwater, Okla.

Women’s Results – Elon 1st place (35 points)
1. Maria Ahm – 19:37.30
4. Maggie Springer – 20:13.40
7. Leandra Lorenz – 20:22.10
9. Anna Twomey – 20:29.30
14. Hannah Preeo – 20:40.10
17. Bridget Kanaley – 20:44.70
26. Alexandra DeCicco – 21:14.30
37. Racheal Wesolowski – 21:37.30
42. Hannah Miller – 21:55.80
47. Lizzie Vinci – 22:14.80
67. Alice Roberts – 23:36.00

Men’s Results – Elon 3rd place (76 points)
8. Aidan Tierney – 24:42.50
9. Andrew Miller – 24:43.10
18. Zane Jackson – 25:37.80
19. Ethan Mimeles – 25:41.90
22. Tamer Metwalli – 26:10.20
28. Cameron Dunn – 27:03.70
37. Dillon Selfors – 28:31.10