NIRCA

Delaware Exceeds Expectations at NIRCA Nationals

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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.

Delaware’s XC Nationals team
Jack Pelczar finishing his race.
John Papadopolous closing out his XC career.
Leah Goodman eyeing the finish line.
Camila Montes and Ella Maletta with their awards.

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

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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
NIRCA Regionals 2023

Blue Hens Impress Competition Despite a Late Start to the Season

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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.
DeNicola racing hard
All our wonderful athletes who competed

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

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