With the season in full swing, the Blue Hens are starting to really hit their stride. Consistent times, packs, and strategies are emerging and solidifying as the team adjusts to the unusual but exciting format that is virtual racing. Full results can be found here  The matchup against UFlorida presented opportunities at a multitude of distances (5k,6k, and 8k), but all of the Hens opted for the 5k distance except for the ever fearless Senior Emily Magoon. UFlorida has not yet provided their team’s results, and as such, your webmaster is calling this a UD win….

Leading the women was Junior Bailey Davin in a time of 19:54, which she ran again at the Newark Resevoir with the pacing expertise of Senior Jacob Henry. Emily Magoon snagged second with a 5k split of 25:08 and an overall time of 28:53 for her first 6k since the 2019 cross country season. Sophomore Katy Peyton made her return to competitive running after being sidelined for almost a year due to injuries. Coming in at 24:32, just one second behind fellow sophomore Madeline Dorley, this season is sure to be an impressive comeback for her!

The boy’s team was led by their captain, sophomore John Papadopoulos with his time of 18:17, paced by Junior Allison Einig on her bike. Not far behind was the team’s resident ultra-marathoner, J Landon, who ran a time of 18:33 and followed up the effort with a 16 mile trail run the following day!

 

Up next is a virtual 5k against Boston University’s Run Club on October 17th- stay tuned for more!

 

 

Cross country is officially in full swing as fall weather settles across the nation. This week, The Hens battled it out against University of Minnesota’s run club, and they put up a mighty good fight. Although UM came out on top in the end, there were some remarkable performances from both our men’s and woman’s teams that signify great things to come as our virtual season progresses.

Junior Paul Filipow led the men’s team and placed 5th overall with a shiny new PR of 16:46. Filipow called this his “proudest moment this year,” and expressed gratitude for having his teammate, Senior Jacob Henry, pace him on his bike. Junior Schuyler Reed was a close second with a time of 16:54

Bailey Davin led the charge for the women’s team, reclaiming her title as the top Blue Hen once again with a time of 19:25. She clocked this PR running alongside several other teammates and was also paced by biker extraordinaire, Henry. Davin took first overall as well, beating UM’s closest runner by 18 seconds.

Overall, it was an impressive showdown between some golden rodents and bright blue birds, and who doesn’t like that? Looking forward, UDXC will be competing in its first multi-distance virtual race, with options of 5k, 6k, and 8k in a matchup against the University of Florida.

Full results can be found here.

In what was possibly the most convoluted year of UDXC/TF history, the Blue Hens fought through unscheduled busses, apparel debacles, and a pandemic that brought an untimely end to the track season. Despite many bumps and curves in the road, there is no denying that when our runners were able to do their thing, they did so with passion, talent, and grace. The performances we saw this year are representative of a team that has managed to grow and flourish under any and all circumstances. Here’s to the 2019-2020 UDXC/TF season.

During cross country, the women placed in the top ten teams a total of three times, while the men placed in the top ten twice! In addition, we saw two new top ten performance records for our home cross country course set by Bailey Davin and former UDXC runner and captain Michael Durkin.

Despite a short track season, the performance lists were dramatically altered as a total of twelve new records were added to the infamous spreadsheets. In our first and only outdoor track meet, the Lloyd Siegler Invitational, runner’s showed immense depth and talent, taking home four individual first place finishes and five individual second place finishes!

Notable performances of the season include Michael Durkin’s first place win at the Delaware Invitational over a slew of D1 teams, a pack of five Hens taking 1st-5th in the women’s 5k at the Lloyd Siegler invitational, and the women’s 4×100 team running a 55.52 for a new team record at Lloyd Siegler.

Here’s hoping we get both seasons next year and continue to thrive as we have been so fortunate to do in the past!

Clear blue skies and vibrant sunshine belied the cold and windy weather that awaited the Blue Hens at the Lloyd Sigler Spring Meet in Salisbury, MD. Despite the ferocious gusts of wind and frigid temperatures, the team had an impressive showing for this season’s first outdoor meet. Full results can be found here.

Alexa Saldida dominated in the field events by claiming her rightful position as number one on the all-time list in discus (26.22m) and shot put (8.50m) and number two in javelin (26.46m). 

Although the intense wind made the individual sprint events ineligible for our all-time lists, (there was a recorded wind factor of 4.9 during these events, anything about 2.0 is considered “illegal”) Brittany Georges and Hannah Eleutheriou obliterated the 200-meter dash, going 1-2 in times of 28.80 and 29.14, respectfully. 

Eleutheriou also placed first in the 100 with a time of 13.53 and led her 4×100 team (Brittany Georges, Jenna Jackson, Kat Sigafoos, Hannah Eleutheriou) to a shiny number 1 spot on the all-time list in 55.52. Sigafoos went on to come in 2nd for the 400, ultimately earning her the #5 spot on our all-time performance list with a time of 1:07.34. 

In the men’s 1500 meter run, newcomer Kyle Owino blasted onto the scene in a second-place finish of 4:44.51, while Gerald Brady (5:01.96) and Jacob Henry (5:04.7) crossed not far behind for 6th and 7th place. Sophomore Lorenzo Andaya made his mark in the men’s 800 by winning his heat and coming in fourth overall with a speedy time of 2:11.27. 

The distance women put significant manpower into the 5k, as the entire race consisted of 7 finishers girls—and 5 of them were Blue Hens. Talia Brookstein-Burke came in first with a time of 20:09.19, ultimately improving her #10 spot on the all-time list. The rest of the team followed in rapid succession, with Emily Magoon (20:11.59) taking 2nd, Abigail Kaye (20:12.07) taking 3rd, Elise LaFramboise (20:36.48) taking 4th, and Madeline Dorley (21:03.03) claiming 5th! 

The men’s 5k continued the Blue Hen distance power, with Michael Murphy coming in 2nd with a time of 17:09.79 and John Papadopoulos taking 4th in 18:22.72.

Up next for the Hens is the Haddonfield Adrenaline 5k in Haddonfield, NJ. This competitive road race draws runners from across the East Coast and promises to bring good competition and St. Patty’s Day cheer.