Alex Horgan

Delaware Opens Their Spring Season in Frigid Conditions at Capital Relays

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The Delaware Club Track & Field team opened their spring season in the nation’s capital at American University for the Capital Relays. Despite it being the spring season, the winter weather was still hanging on. Throughout the day, runners had to deal with a mix of hail, wind, and near freezing temperatures. Despite this, the Blue Hens fought the elements as well as their opponents to start the season off with gritty performances.

Alex Horgan started the meet for the Blue Hens with a masterful running of the 5k. Horgan not only won the race handily, but he set a new meet record and improved to third all time in club history. On top of all that, he also made a 23-second improvement on his personal best, breaking the 15-minute mark for the first time by running the race in 14:54.78.

As soon as the 5ks finished, the hail started falling hard, just in time for the start of the 100-meter dash. That didn’t stop four Blue Hens from scoring on both sides. In the women’s 100, junior Sam Radinsky (14.53) and freshman Rilee McMahan (14.6) placed 3rd and 4th respectively. The men followed up a pair of 3rd and 4th place finishes of their own. Freshman Kurt Krummenacker (11.44) and junior Daniel Toms (12.07) both managed to score points in their first individual outdoor races of their collegiate careers.

Horgan continued his winning ways in the 1600-meter race. He took the lead half-way through the race and never looked back, securing the win by five seconds with a time of 4:33.73. No women scored for women in the 1600, but freshmen Kaitlyn Burke (6:06.04) and Hannah Heredia (6:06.50) took the top two spots in their heat, both managing top-15 overall finishes. More winning was done in the men’s 4×100-meter relay, where the squad of Krummenacker, Toms, Josiah Taylor, and Shane Isacson won the race in 49.89 seconds.

The 800-meter race had a handful of top-10 finishes and scoring spots. The duo of sophomore Leah Goodman (2:52.82) and Burke (2:53.64) both top-10, squeezing in 9th and 10th respectively. On the men’s side, three Blue Hens managed to score points. Junior Ryan Lazev (2:09.98), freshman Josh Pawlik (2:10.66), and senior Sasha Latina (2:11.16) finished back-to-back-to-back, finishing in 4th, 5th, and 6th respectively.

In the final and most anticipated event of the day, three evenly matched men’s 4×400 relay teams from Delaware battled it out for the crown. In a back and forth race, it all came down to the final leg, where Caden MacHenry went from third to first, catching his teammate at the line, giving him, Lazev, Brady Sheaffer, and Evan Pawlik the victory. Unfortunately, the heat-winning time of 3:56.25 was only good for 2nd place overall.

As a unit, the University of Delaware’s men’s team was the top squad. They finished with 81 total points, which was 34 more than second place. The women’s team scored 37 points, which landed them at 4th place.

The club only has to wait one week for their next meet. The Lloyd Sigler Spring Meet takes place on March 4th, hosted by Salisbury University.

Full men’s results can be found here, and women’s here.

Horgan celebrating his new personal best in the 5k

Toms and Krummenacker fighting the elements in the 100-meter

Caden MacHenry passing John Papadopoulus at the finish line of the 4×400 with the entire team cheering them on

The Blue Hens End Their Winter Season in Style at Penn State in the Happy Valley Invitational

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For their final meet of the indoor season, the Delaware Club Track & Field squad traveled to Penn State University for the Happy Valley Invitational. For some it was the beginning of their season, for others it was the next step of their training, but regardless, the Hens put everything they had in a heavily competitive meet. 

The distance squad kicked off the meet in style, with all four distance medley relay teams finding their way on the indoor performance list. For the women, the squad of Jenna Mlecko, Eli Manning, Leah Goodman, and Kaitlyn Burke took 6th place in the field, running 14:46.79, which gave them the fourth best time ever run indoors. The top Delaware men’s DMR team of John Papadopoulos, Ryan Lazev, Sasha Latina, and Caden MacHenry placed 8th in the field and 7th on the all-time performance list, squeaking under the 12 minute mark at 11:58.75.

After the longest event of the day concluded, the two shortest events of the day kicked off. In the 60m girls hurdles, freshmen Grace Wertheimer (11.6) and CJ Williams (11.76) set season bests in back-to-back finishes. In the 60m dash, freshman Rilee McMahan tied her personal best time of 8.62, which was good for 8th place, and junior Sam Radinsky finished in 11th place, setting a new best time of 8.93, knocking off her old time by one-one hundredth of a second. The speed continued on the track with the 4×200 meter relay, and both Delaware relays found themselves on the all-time performance lists. The women’s relay of McMahan, Wertheimer, Lianna Greenstein, and Gianna Dowling placed 5th with a time of 2:05.09. The men’s team of Kurt Krummenacker, Jude Mazzola, Max Moltchanov, and Shane Isacson followed them up with a 3rd place finish in a time of 1:42.07.

In a massive field in the men’s mile, Michael Toy (4:43.96), Aravind Arunachalam (4:46.87), and Sasha Latina (4:50.80) all broke the sub-five minute mark and secured a top 30 spot, with Arunachalam even going as far to win his heat in his first ever collegiate track race. In CJ Williams’ first ever collegiate 400m race, she landed at 4th place on the all-time indoor performance list and secured 8th place in the field with a time of 1:08.03. She immediately followed that up with a 2:39.36 800m run with another 8th place finish and her third entry on the day to the indoor performance list. On the men’s side of the 800, Michael Anderson led the Blue Hens with an 11th place finish. His race was followed by a very competitive second heat, where Josh Pawlik (2:08.74), Ryan Lazev (2:09.74), and Evan Pawlik (2:10.42) all set new season bests as well as grabbed top-25 finishes. 

In the final event that the Delaware sprinters competed in, the 200m featured two performance list eligible finishes. The duo of Rilee McMahon (30.91) and Sam Radinsky (31.26) once again finished within a second of each other, scoring back-to-back placements at 10th and 11th. McMahon entered her name in the 200m list, landing in the 8th place spot, right behind her friend and teammate in Radinsky. 

In a highly anticipated event, the 3,000 meter race featured two top-10 finishes by the distance captains. Jenna Mlecko led off, and her time of 11:59.15 was good for an 8th place finish. Alex Horgan followed her up with a meet record-setting 8:45.92. This of course gave him the win as well as the 5th best indoor time ever for the club. The meet was concluded with the men’s 4x400m relay. Delaware secured 6th place with a time of 3:43.13, run by the squad of Anderson, Latina, and the Pawlik twins. 

The field events featured five top-5 placements by four different women. Lianna Greenstein continued her dominance of the indoor jumping events. She improved her club-best triple jump to 10.08 meters, and also set a new indoor-best in the long jump, soaring 4.47 meters. She placed 2nd and 4th respectively. In the high jump, Maggie Huizinga matched her season best jump of 4′ 8″ to place second, and Gianna Dowling leaped 4′ 6″ to place 5th. Maggie Morris became the first thrower to compete for Delaware this season, and she did not disappoint. Her 8.96 meter throw of the shot put landed her in third place, and was also the furthest throw in club history.

With the indoor season complete. Delaware moves on to the outdoor season, which starts on February 25th at Capital Relays in Washington D.C.


Full meet results can be found here.

 

Anderson taking the lead in the 4×400

Papadopoulos setting the pace in the men’s DMR

Burke finishing off the final leg of the women’s DMR

Arunachalam extending his lead in the mile race

Horgan Earns All-American Honors as Delaware Wraps Up Their Season at NIRCA Nationals

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The Delaware Cross Country team finished up the season in Richmond, Virginia at the NIRCA Cross Country National Championships. Facing off against universities from across the country, the Delaware runners gave it all they had in gritty races all across the board. The fierce competition and slightly elongated course gave the squad a run to remember in the season finale.

Starting off the set of championship races were the women, who finished just inside the top 20 in 19th place as a team. It marks the fifth straight time the women finished in the top 20 at Nationals. The Blue Hens were led by freshmen Jade Barrett and Kaitlyn Burke. Barrett finished first for the Blue Hens in 82nd place with a time of 25:58, followed by Burke, who finished 110th at 26:38. Junior Jenna Mlecko followed, finishing in 27:03 in her final cross country race of her career, as the distance captain is graduating early this year. The duo of CJ Williams (27:33) and Natalie Pinto (27:40) continued to work off each other, finishing within two spots of each other to round out the top five. Freshman Hannah Heredia (28:06) took the sixth spot for Delaware and senior Madeleine Dorley (30:11) finished seventh in her last ever race for the school.

The men followed with a tough 29th place team finish. Alex Horgan repeated as an All-American, earning a second-team spot in 23rd place with a time of 26:40. Despite coming off of a foot injury, freshman Evan Diefenbeck finished second for the Blue Hens, coming in at 29:27 to finish in 164th place. Seniors Sasha Latina (29:56) and Chris Calandra (30:58) took the next two spots, ending their cross country careers for Delaware with third and fourth place finishes for the team. Freshman Michael Toy made his top seven debut by also finishing the race in 30:58, followed closely behind by Dan Giron (31:18). Only six members crossed the finish line as Matthew Kwiatkowski was unable to complete the race.

In the class races, six Blue Hens ran their final XC race wearing the blue and gold. Maddy Ciskowski ran one of her best races of the season in her final race of her career, leading Delaware with a time of 28:52. Seniors Kayla Johnson and Kelsie Hansell also finished out their time with Delaware, with Hansell showing immense perseverance by finishing her last ever race fighting through heavy sickness. Team President John Papadopoulos led the squad in the men’s upperclassman race, going out fast and finishing with a time of 32:38. Seniors Matt Bieker and John Salsini-Tobias also finished out their cross country careers with times of 37:35 and 43:28 respectively.

After a long delay and an even longer day, the underclassmen concluded the afternoon with their races. Three girls finished their races separated by less than 35 seconds at the top of the women’s underclassman race. Freshman Camila Montes (28:55) led the pack in 38th place, followed close behind by Lauren Pollock (29:24) and Emma Szydlow (29:28), who finished back-to-back. On the men’s side, the top three underclassman finishers for Delaware were all separated by a minute. Leading the charge was Evan Pawlik (31:17) and Caden MacHenry (31:25), and then Sean Bernardo at 32:16.

With the cross country season ending, Delaware shifts their focus to winter track. The Blue Hens are set to make their season debut on the track at Franklin & Marshall College on December 9th at the Diplomat Open. 

Full meet results can be found here.

The ten seniors who ran their last ever cross country race for Delaware
Josh Pawlik leading a pack of runners
Alex Horgan in a battle on his way to an All-American caliber race
Kayla Johnson turning the corner as she reaches the final mile
Matt Bieker in a pack of runners during his final XC race
Freshman Emma Szydlow finishing her final XC race of her first season

Alex Horgan wins the NIRCA Regional as Both Men and Women Place Top 10

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Delaware club cross country kicked off the championship season at the NIRCA Cross Country Mid-Atlantic Regional at Lehigh University. The runner-friendly course set the stage for the Delaware athletes to show what they could do.

The women kicked off the morning with an impressive 6th place team finish. Out of the top seven girls, six of them set new personal bests. Freshman Jade Barrett led Delaware once again, this time setting a new personal record by over a minute at 24:45, as well as finishing in the top 25. Junior Jenna Mlecko also set a new personal record right behind her, getting below 25 minutes for the first time, crossing the line at 24:59. The third and fourth Delaware spots went to freshmen Kaitlyn Burke and Hannah Heredia, who each set personal bests at 25:46.4 and 25:58.3 respectively. Freshman CJ Williams finished up the scoring five with a massive minute and a half improvement on her best time, coming in at 26:02. Finishing right behind her at 26:04 with a minute improvement on her best time was junior Natalie Pinto, and rounding out the top seven was senior Madeleine Dorley, who finished in 27:02.9.

Due to a results issue, it is unknown what the exact position the men placed, but it is known that they finished well enough to qualify for Nationals. The only thing known for sure about the men’s race is that senior Alex Horgan put out a dominant performance, winning the race with a time of 25:25, which missed his all-time club record by only two seconds. Despite not putting in their best performances, freshmen Matthew Kwiatkowski and Alejandro Lobo still put up impressive performances, coming in at 27:01 and 28:00 respectively. Sophomore Aravind Arunachalam set a new best for himself at 28:09 to finish fourth for Delaware, followed closely by senior Sasha Latina, who finished in 28:20. Completing the top seven was senior Chris Calandra and junior Dan Giron, with Calandra setting a new personal best of 28:41, and Giron continuing his sub-30 minute streak going 29:51.4.

With one race to go, Delaware is ready to finish the season strong at the NIRCA Cross Country National Championships on November 12th in Richmond, Virginia.


Full results can be found here.

Jade Barrett and Jenna Mlecko leading Delaware to a 6th place team finish
Hannah Pash finishing her race with intensity
Alex Horgan en route to his regional championship in the beautiful Lehigh Valley
Evan and Josh Pawlik taking sibling rivalry to a new level, with Anthony Stohr kicking with them

Women Place Top 3 and Men Win on Their Home Course

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Delaware club cross country made the short trip up to White Clay Creek State Park to host the Delaware Invitational. Along with the University of Delaware Women’s Cross Country team, the teams face the grueling course in a battle to defend their home turf.

The women started off the day with a third place finish in the 6k. Freshman Jade Barrett returned to competition, once again leading the team with a time of 26:37.83, placing 16th. The tandem of junior Jenna Mlecko (27:07.02) and freshman Kaitlyn Burke (27:21.59) took the final two podium spots for Delaware, both finishing in the top 20 overall. Freshman Hannah Heredia finished close behind them, finishing 23rd place in 27:35.9. Junior Natalie Pinto (28:28.54), freshman CJ Williams (28:35.32), and senior Madeleine Dorley (28:53.82) came in with back-to-back-to-back finishes to complete Delaware’s top seven. 

The men followed with a first place finish in the 8k. Senior Alex Horgan had complete control of the race, winning the whole meet with a time of 26:49.76. His time puts him above Mike Durkin for 5th place on the Delaware Club Cross Country leaderboard for the White Clay course. Freshman Alejandro Lobo (29:05.04) also cracked the top ten with a 10th place finish, followed closely by fellow freshman Evan Diefenbeck (29:15.62), who finished 11th. Rounding out the scoring five was junior Dan Giron (30:33.14) and senior Chris Calandra (30:41.01) in his first 8k of the season. Senior Sasha Latina followed with a time of 30:56.84, and freshman Brenden Debrosse cracked the top seven for the first time with a personal best 31:42.37.

Delaware’s sights now are pointed to NIRCA Regionals at Lehigh on October 29th, where they will try to qualify as a team for nationals.

Full results can be found here.