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

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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.

Women Take Home Third Place Finish at Mid-Atlantic Regionals

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The Delaware club cross country team traveled to Lehigh University over the weekend to compete in the NIRCA Mid-Atlantic Region Race. The women’s team headlined the morning with a third place finish in a 13-team field. Full results can be found here.

Bailey Davin once again led the way for the Blue Hens crossing the line in 23:33 — just one second off her all-time personal best of 23:32. Davin’s 11th place finish is the third time she finished as the Hens’ top runner. Delaware’s next three runners in Talia Brookstein-Burke (24:20.60), Leena Saidi (24:22.50) and Allison Einig (24:29.60) secured three valuable top twenty spots to help secure the top three finish. The trio placed in 18th, 19th and 20th respectively. 

Emily Ward rounded out the scoring five for the women with a time of 26:22.30 and 56th place finish. Madeleine Dorley and Lauren Pollock took the final two top seven spots in times of 26:25.30 and 27:11.30. 

For the men, Alex Horgan continued his dominance on the course with a third place finish and time of 25:23. In each of the last three meets, Horgan has taken home a top three individual finish. The remaining four scoring spots for Delaware were all secured within a minute of each other. Sasha Latina’s new personal best of 28:08.50 started the trend with Bryant Cordova (28:15.50), Paul Filipow (28:21.70) and Schuyler Reed (28:31.50) following shortly after. 

Daniel Giron and Chris Calandra both broke the sub-30 mark to secure the final two top seven spots in 29:27 for Giron and 29:41.50 for Calandra. The men finished the day with a sixth place team finish.

The regional meet performance marks the end of three straight weeks of racing for Delaware. The upcoming Halloween weekend will serve as a way for the Hens to get a much needed break before returning to the course on Nov. 6 in its season finale at NIRCA Nationals in Shelbyville, Indiana.

The women finished  in third place with an average time of 24:37.20.

Alex Horgan’s time of 25:23.00 marks the second straight week of Horgan going under 26 minutes.

The Blue Hens will have a two weeks to prepare for NIRCA Nationals on Nov. 6.

Women, Men’s Teams Place in the Top Three at Princeton Invitational

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Delaware club cross country ran in its first NIRCA sanctioned race of the season at the Princeton Invitational Sunday. Princeton historically is a longer course and this year it was no different. Despite the slightly longer course, over 14 personal bests were set across the board!

The women led off the afternoon in the 6,000 meter-race with a third place and 87-point performance out of 11 teams. Three senior runners finished inside the top twelve positions for the Blue Hens. Bailey Davin finished sixth with a time of 24:49.47, while Talia Brookstein-Burke and Allison Einig came in eighth and twelfth with finishing times of 25:17.16 and 25:38.84. 

Sophomore Natalie Pinto placed inside the top seven for the first time on the year with a 28:53.14 performance. Freshman Lauren Pollock rounded out the scoring five right behind Pinto in a time of 28:57.55. Junior Kayla Johnson and senior Liz Steenkamer took the final two top seven spots.

Similar to the women, the men finished the day with a third place finish and tallied 91 points in a 12 team field. Junior Alex Horgan headlined the 8,000 meter-race and became the first club cross country runner to win an individual title since Michael Durkin in 2019. Horgan won the race with a time of 25:55.16.

Graduate student Bryant Cordova (27:38.87) and senior Schuyler Reed (28:00.07) took 15th and 24th place. Junior Sasha Latina (28:18.42) and senior Paul Filipow (28:24.71) went back-to-back to finish off the scoring five with 31st and 32nd place finishes. Sophomore Cam Harrington (29:07.56) and junior Chris Calandra (29:26.17) took the final two spots in the top seven.

The team’s second meet of the week is set for Oct. 23 at Lehigh University in NIRCA’s Mid-Atlantic Regional race. Full meet results can be found here.

Alex Horgan pulls away from the field for a first place finish.

Bailey Davin led the way for the women placing sixth.

Four Delaware runners won awards for their top 12 individual performances!

Cross County Returns to the XC Course at Delaware Invitational

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The Delaware club cross country team made its return to White Clay Creek State Park for the first time since September of 2019 in the 2021 Delaware Invitational on Saturday. Full results can be found here.

The women started off the morning with a 57 point, second place finish out of a six team field and placed all of its seven runners in the top 30.

Senior Bailey Davin finished 12th and led the way for the Blue Hens with a time of 25:14. Davin’s time is only five seconds off her 2019 performance of 25:09 at White Clay, which is sixth all-time. Senior Talia Brookstein-Burke ran a course personal best of 26:00.2 and in her first ever college race, sophomore Jenna Mlecko finished 17th with a time of 26:04.2.

Senior Allison Einig and junior Madeleine Dorley rounded out the scoring five for Delaware with times of 26:52.5 and 28:36.7. Sophomore Emily Ward and freshman Lauren Pollock in their college cross country debuts took the final two top seven spots with times of 28:55.5 and 29:37.6.

“It’s a really tough course to start out with, but everybody put in a lot of good work today and we had a lot of great results,” Davin said.

On the men’s side, two runners broke the sub-30 barrier including a top 10 all-time performance by junior and Boston College transfer Alex Horgan. Horgan surpassed Chris Kitson and now sits sixth all-time with his 27:04.8 time. Horgan took second place overall.

Senior Paul Filipow placed 12th and crossed the line second for Delaware with a personal course best of 29:38.5. Senior Schuyler Reed, graduate student Bryant Cordova and junior Sasha Latina all finished in under 31 minutes, with times of 30:25.3, 30:28.5 and 30:45.3 respectively. Sophomore’s Cam Harrington and Daniel Giron rounded out the top seven with their first ever 8k times of 31:15.1 and 31:46.3.

“I really enjoyed the hill mid race, it’s in fact so nice I could do it twice,” Filipow said. “Overall, really proud with the team today, really proud to see what we can do for Princeton, Lehigh and beyond.”

The cross country team will travel to Princeton University on Oct. 17 to race at the Princeton Invitational.

UD vs. UFlorida

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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!