Delaware Exceeds Expectations at NIRCA Nationals

November 13, 2023November 13, 2023leahgood

The Delaware Club Cross Country team traveled to Shelbyville, Indiana to cap off their season at NIRCA Nationals on Saturday, November 11th. Despite the courses for both men and women being ~200 meters long, our runners showcased their skills, achieving personal records across all races.

The day began with the upperclassman women’s 6k race. Despite the long course, junior Leah Goodman worked her way up to finish 26th overall and achieving a new personal best of 26:54. Not far behind was Junior Margaret Fogarty with a time of 27:37 also earning a new personal best in her debut cross-country season. Senior Natalie Pinto concluded her cross-country career by coming in at 28:17 leaving a lasting impact on the girl’s team. Senior and girls captain Aine Grubb crossed the line with a time of 32:01 and capped off the women’s upperclassman squad.

In the upperclassmen men’s 8k race, all three Delaware runners concluded their cross-country careers on a high note, setting new personal bests. Graduate student Anthony Stohr crossed the line with a new personal best of 29:46. Senior Matt Scarpelli had an impressive performance with a respectable time of 30:10. Despite a setback of a torn ACL in March, senior Ryan Lazev completed his goal of running in NIRCA Regionals and Nationals for the first time and finishing with a new personal best of 35:22.

The Delaware men’s team met the requirements to earn a championship race at NIRCA Nationals. The seven runners representing the Blue Hens were Evan Diefenbeck, Matthew Kwiatkowski, John Papadopoulos, Chris Calandra, Brady Sheaffer, Alejandro Lobo, and Daniel Giron. All five finishers set new personal records on this flat and fast course. Sophomore Evan Diefenbeck leads the pack once again with a respectable time of 26:42. Sophomore Matthew Kwiatkowski finished close behind with an impressive time of 26:48. Graduate student John Papadopoulos’s (27:53) hard work paid off with his impressive performance. Fellow grad student Chris Calandra (27:57) also ended his XC career on a high note. Sophomore Brady Sheaffer ended his sophomore season finishing 5th for the Delaware men and a time of 28:09. Unfortunately senior Daniel Giron and sophomore Alejandro Lobo were battling injuries and had to cut their race short, but still fought hard and had a successful season.

Our underclassman women’s 6k were up next and did not fall short of excellence. Ella Maletta and Camila Montes placed 9th and 14th respectively overall and earned their way onto the stage for awards. Freshman Ella Maletta led the underclassman girls and crossed the line in an impressive 25:18. Sophmore Camila Montes continues to improve each race finishing second for Delaware in 25:31. Fellow sophomore Hannah Heredia (26:01) followed just a few spots behind finishing 20th overall. Freshman Ariana DeNicola (27:05) and Natalie Greger (27:25) rounded the top five underclassmen for Delaware all putting up respectable performances. Freshmen Kate Kershaw (27:30) Anna Callaghan (27:53) Carly Curnutt (28:47) and Kaeley Jucewicz (29:33) all had notable performances as they made their nationals debut.

Delaware’s underclassman 8k capped the long yet exciting day of racing. Sophomore Jack Pelczar had a breakout day leading the pack with an impressive time and PR of 28:30. Sophomores Evan Pawlik (29:07) and Josh Pawlik (29:55) worked together to claim the next two spots and both achieved personal bests. Freshman Dylan Aks (31:36) was next to cross the line for Delaware earning a new best time as well. Freshman Cole Donnelly (32:09), John Healy (32:26), and Ethan Storm (33:11) rounded up the top seven each establishing new pr’s and finishing their first national level collegiate race. Notable mention for sophomore Liam Trageser (33:35) as he displayed his improvement with a big personal best.

Although Delaware’s cross-country season has come to an end, the winter and spring track seasons are just around the corner. Delaware track and field is set to kick off its season on December 9th at the Susquehanna Early Season Invite!

All official times are a result of a 200-meter-long course for both men and women and should be adjusted accordingly for all 8k and 6k splits.

Full results can be found here.

John Papadopolous closing out his XC career.

Camila Montes and Ella Maletta with their awards.

Men Place 5th, Women Place 10th at NIRCA Mid-Atlantic Regionals.

October 22, 2023October 22, 2023leahgood

Club cross country began their championship season at the NIRCA Mid-Atlantic Regional Race, hosted by Lehigh University. This fast course led to multiple personal bests and notable performances for our Delaware athletes.

The women’s 6k began the day with an impressive 10th-place team finish. In addition, out of the top seven girls, four of them set new personal bests. Junior Delaney Oeth led our girls’ team with a respectable time of 25:26. Oeth set a 45-second personal record as well as earned a top 50 spot overall. Freshman Ella Maletta also improved by 30 seconds with her time of 25:39.1. Sophomores Jade Barrett (26:07), Camila Montes (26:13, over a minute PR), and Hannah Heredia (26:19.4) claimed the next three Delaware spots respectively. Junior Margaret Fogarty ran this fast course for the first time and set over a minute personal best of 27:37. The Delaware top seven was rounded out by freshman Ariana DeNicola who finished in 27:51. Following close behind were noteworthy performances, Hannah Pash (27:55) breaking 28 minutes for the first time, senior Natalie Pinto’s racing at NIRCA Regionals for the last time, and junior Leah Goodman (27:57) following close behind setting a small personal best.

The men’s 5th-place finish in the 8k race resulted in impressive individual performances. They also qualified for the championship race as a team at NIRCA Nationals. The top five Delaware athletes had a remarkable average time of 27:39 setting them up for success in the upcoming championship race. Leading the Delaware men was sophomore Matthew Kwiatkowski finishing 23rd overall in 27:13. Kwiatkowski also earned the eighth spot on the Lehigh course club performance list. Close behind was sophomore Evan Diefenbeck finishing in 27:22.1 and barely claiming the ninth spot on the performance list. Setting a new personal best and taking the third spot for Delaware was sophomore Brady Sheaffer with a respectable time of 27:33. Sophmore Alejandro Lobo (27:51) finished fourth for our team going below 28 minutes. Graduate student John Papadopoulos (28:18), and senior Daniel Giron (28:48) took the fifth and sixth scoring spots. Finishing one second later and rounding out the top seven was graduate student Chris Calandra (28:49). An honorable mention for the following five Delaware finishers (Brett Balthis, Dave Kelly, Jack Pelczar, Evan Pawlik, and Anthony Stohr) all setting personal bests and breaking the 30-minute barrier for the first time.

Delaware club cross country will finish their seasons strong and head to Shelbyville, Indiana on November 11th to compete at the NIRCA Cross Country National Championships.

Full results can be found here.

Matthew Kwiatkowski leading Delaware to a fifth place team finish

Blue Hens Impress Competition Despite a Late Start to the Season

October 1, 2023October 1, 2023leahgood

Although the Delaware club cross country team had a later than anticipated start to the season, they competed in the DC Invitational on Saturday, September 30th. The team returned to DC for the second consecutive year but tackled a new hilly course at Lake Accotink Park in Springfield VA. This NIRCA sanctioned race was hosted by George Washington University.

The weather was clear and the women’s 6k led the meet off at 10 am. Freshman Gabriella Maletta continued to lead the Delaware women placing 13th overall with a time of 26:09. Making her cross country debut and finishing second for the team was junior Delaney Oeth coming in at 26:11 and placing 14th overall. Setting up a good start to their sophomore seasons were Jade Barrett (26:14), and Hannah Heredia (26:15) placing 15th and 16th respectively. Freshman Ariana DeNicola (26:42) finished her first collegiate race claiming the 5th spot on the team and 21st overall. Rounding out the Delaware top seven were graduate student Robin Collura (27:19) and freshman Kate Kershaw (27:27) both making their Delaware debuts.

The men’s 8k kicked off shortly behind and they pulled away with a clear team victory. Although the race distance was a bit short, sophomores Brady Sheaffer and Evan Diefenbeck worked together to come in first and second with a standout time of 26:02.3 and 26:02.5 respectively. Graduate student John Papadopoulos’s hard work showed with his third-place team finish and taking the fifth overall spot coming in at 26:43. Fellow grad student Chris Calandra (27:26) and sophomore Michael Toy (27:56) continued Delaware’s success placing within the top ten spots. Our scoring group was capped off by junior Brett Balthis (28:16) and grad student Anthony Stohr (29:06.98) to wrap up the Delaware top seven for the men’s ~8k.

Delaware will be preparing to compete on their home turf at the Delaware Invitational, on Friday, October 13th!

Full meet results can be found here.

Sheaffer and Diefenbeck working the final hill.

UDXCTF Season Debut at the 47th Gary P. Lister Bottle & Cork 5k.

September 10, 2023September 10, 2023leahgood

The start of the fall semester means the beginning of a new season for the Club XCTF team. Both cross-country runners and sprinters tackled the heat this Saturday, September 9th, at the annual Bottle & Cork 5k road race. Despite just beginning their season, the team exceeded expectations with many notable performances.

The top ten overall spots included six current Delaware runners, two graduate students, and one alumnus. Sophomore Brady Sheaffer finished first with a respectable time of 16:18.0. Close behind was sophomore Alejandro Lobo coming in at 16:28.6. Following the two sophomores was Junior Brett Balthis (17:17.5), and graduate student Chris Calandra (17:28.2) to round out the top five. Sophomore Jack Pelczar (17:58.3), senior Daniel Giron (18:12.2), and graduate student Anthony Stohr (18:13.7) showed their talent with 6th, 7th, and 8th place finishes. Senior Matt Scarpelli secured the 10th overall spot with a time of 18:20.9.

Current Sophmore Evan Diefenbeck tackled the 10-miler instead this weekend at Dewey and finished 1st overall in 57:02.2. Additionally the team cheered for our volunteer coach Mark Keese to finish his 10-miler as well in 1:35.14.4.

Moving on to the women’s results, UDXCTF competed hard in Dewey this Saturday with various standout performances. Freshman Gabriella Maletta dominated with a women’s first-place overall finish of 21:48.5. Following close behind was freshman teammate Carly Curnutt finishing second with a time of 21:56.2. Graduate student Robin Collura (22:05.9), sophomore Jade Barrett (22:07.2), and junior Delaney Oeth (22:45.6) took 3rd, 4th, and 5th place respectively.

An honorable mention to all runners who placed within their age groups, the freshmen for completing their first collegiate race, as well as multiple sprinters attacking this 5k.

The cross country team will attend their official season opener on September 16th at the Highlander Invite.

Full meet results can be found here.

Maletta on the final stretch of her race.

Oeth smiling her way to the finish line.

Sophmores Sobocinski, and Trageser working together.

Alex Horgan Earns All-American Honors, Women Place in Top 15

November 8, 2021laporte

Delaware club cross country ended its 2021 fall season on a high note over the weekend at NIRCA’s National Championship in Shelbyville, Indiana. It marked the team’s first in-person nationals meet since the fall of 2019.

Despite a slightly longer course of about 200 meters, both squads put up impressive performances in the championship and class races.

Junior Alex Horgan led the way for the men with a top 10 finish in the championship race with an official time of 25:24.6. Horgan went out aggressively in a 4:54 first mile with a pack of runners from schools including Michigan, Illinois and the 2021 club national champions Northeastern. Throughout the race Horgan averaged a pace of just under 5:07 per mile.

Horgan’s sixth place finish earned him first-team All-American honors.

As a whole, the men finished 26th with all seven of its runners going under the thirty-minute mark. Bryant Cordova ended his season with another sub-28 minute performance finishing in 115th place with a time of 27:27. The Hens put their next two runners Sasha Latina (28:08.9) and Paul Filipow (28.31.7) in the sub-29 minute club.

The Hens’ young core of sophomores Daniel Giron (29:09.5) and Cam Harrington (29:29.5) took the fifth and sixth spots among the top seven runners. Will Taylor rounded out the final spot for the team in a gutsy performance after replacing Schuyler Reed prior to the race. Reed did not compete in the championship race due to a foot injury. Taylor crossed the line with a time of 29:51.6.

The women’s squad finished its season with another impressive team performance coming off its third place finish at the NIRCA Mid-Atlantic Regionals and Princeton Invitational. The women placed 12th in Indiana. It marks the fourth straight time the women finished in the top 20 and the best overall finish in that same time period since the team placed 13th in 2017.

The Blue Hens were led by a trio of seniors in Bailey Davin, Allison Einig and Talia Brookstein-Burke who spiked up for their last time as members of the club cross country team. Davin took 38th place with a time of 24:03.9. Einig and Brookstein-Burke continued to work off each other as they have most of the season. The pair placed within four spots of each other with Einig clocking in at 24:38.3 and Brookstein-Burke finishing with a time of 24:41.4.

The Blue Hens ultimately placed four of its five runners within one minute of each other as Leena Saidi (25.28.3) and Jenna Mlecko (25:32.5) rounded out the scoring five for Delaware. Lauren Pollock (27:23.8) and Madeleine Dorely (27:32.3) took the sixth and seventh spots and finished within eight seconds of each other.

In the class races, a total of five athletes ran on an XC course one last time as Blue Hens. Senior Kendra Cutler served as the only woman to compete in the upperclassmen race. She finished her Blue Hen cross country career with a time of 29:19.2 and took home 61st place.

Seniors Tim Fenton, Schuyler Reed, Mike Noble and fifth-year member Matt Ward represented the men’s side of things. Fenton led the way with a time of 30:46 with Ward following shortly behind in a time of 31:16.1. Despite the foot injury for Reed and a rib issue for Noble, the two finished in times of 32:28.4 and 35:26.9 respectively.

Delaware’s underclassmen rounded out the afternoon with Aubra Sharp (29:47.6) finishing in 59th place in the women’s race. The men’s underclassmen race saw six of Delaware’s eight total runners finish within 30 seconds of each other with Thomas McAdoo leading the charge with a time of 30:47.9.

The end of cross country marks the beginning of the winter and spring track seasons. Delaware track and field is set to compete on Dec. 3 at the Fastrack Season Opener in Staten Island for the first time since December of 2019.