NIRCA Nationals

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

Three Blue Hens Earn All-American Honors at NIRCA Nationals

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Despite spring break, the Blue Hens made the long trek out to Olivet College to compete in the NIRCA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The appearance at track nationals is the team’s first since the 2019 season.

The women were headlined by seniors Allison Einig and Kendra Cutler taking home All-American recognition in the 3000-meter steeplechase. Einig finished fourth with a time of 13:34.04, while Cutler followed closely behind. Cutler placed fifth and crossed the line with a time of 14:25.94. 

Einig and Cutler scored all of the nine total points for the women on the weekend.

On the men’s side, freshman Ryan Wallace received All-American honors after taking home second place in the 110-meter hurdles. Wallace finished in a time of 16.20 and now holds the second fastest outdoor 110 hurdle time in team history. He surpassed Andrew Villari’s 2013 NIRCA Nationals time of 16.40.

Multiple Blue Hens found success in the 5000-meter run for both the ladies and the fellas. The duo of Bailey Davin and Talia Brookstein-Burke both placed inside the top 20. Davin led the way finishing 10th with a time of 19:14.09. The time puts her fifth all-time on the team outdoor records list. Brookstein-Burke placed sixteenth in 19:37.07.

For the men, Alex Horgan continued his tear in the 5k. Horgan took home 10th place in the event with a time of 15:19.64. His time surpassed that of Brandon Quanci and puts him seventh all-time on the team in the event.

In the field events, jumpers Tyran Rice and Drew Huffer both placed in the top 20 nationally. Rice, a freshman, leaped his way to a mark of 5.60 meters in the long jump. Rice is the first long jumper to get on the outdoor all-time list since Matt Ward did so in 2019. Rice surpassed Ward’s mark of 5.58 meters and now sits sixth all-time.

Huffer left Michigan with a top 10 place after finishing ninth in the triple jump. Huffer finished with a mark of 11.30 meters.

The Hens will get the week off before traveling to West Chester University on April 16 to compete in the Bill Butler Invitational.

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.