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.

Alex Horgan jockeys for position in the first mile of the championship race.

The women’s 12th place finished marks the fourth straight year they finished in the top 20.

Tim Fenton leads the way for Delaware in the upperclassmen race.

Kendra Cutler runs her last cross country race as a Blue Hen.

Sophomore Sean Bernardo was one of the six underclassmen to finish within 30 seconds of each other.

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.