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Delaware Ends Season Strong at NIRCA Nationals

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The Delaware Club Cross Country team concluded their season at the 2024 NIRCA Nationals on Saturday, November 9th, at the hilly Hershey Parkview XC Course in Hershey, PA. Despite the difficult course, Delaware athletes embraced the lively atmosphere, capping off their season with strong performances and emotional finishes.

The day began with the Women’s Junior/Senior 6k, where senior Hannah Pash led the Blue Hens, crossing the finish line in 29:30. Pash celebrated a strong ending to her cross-country career. Senior Leah Goodman, battling back from illness, finished her last race in 32:27. Senior Aine Grubb wrapped up her cross-country journey in 33:27, marking an emotional end to her season. Seniors Emily Sposato (34:50) and Amanda Ciaramella (35:10) worked together throughout the race, pushing each other to finish their final collegiate races on a high note.

In the Men’s Junior/Senior 8k, senior Caden MacHenry led Delaware with a time of 34:32, closing out his senior season. Junior Liam Trageser followed with a strong effort of 36:54, while senior Joe Raziano wrapped up his cross-country career with a time of 39:40. Junior Ian Levine also had a strong finish, completing the race in 45:03.

Delaware’s men’s and women’s teams both earned spots in the championship races after impressive performances at Regionals. The Women’s Championship 6k was led by senior Lauren Pollock, who ended her incredible season with a standout time of 25:57 on the tough Hershey course. Sophomore Claire Merchant followed with a strong performance, finishing in 27:02, highlighting her success this season. Junior Jade Barrett crossed the line in 27:23, concluding another consistent season. Freshman Zoe Morawski (27:56) and sophomore Kate Kershaw (28:07) crossed the line back to back with respectable times. Sophomores Marleigh Ballard (28:32) and Natalie Greger (28:45) rounded out Delaware’s top seven with notable performances to conclude their sophomore seasons.

In the Men’s Championship 8k, junior Brady Sheaffer led for Delaware with an impressive time of 27:09, concluding his dominant season. Junior Evan Diefenbeck followed closely with a strong finish in 28:08. Freshmen Sebastiano Vandoni (28:41) and Michael Colavito (28:57) closed their standout debut seasons with impressive times, showcasing their potential and promising future. Junior Dave Kelly (29:14) broke 30 minutes on the difficult course, while junior Josh Pawlik rounded out the team, finishing a successful season in 30:55.

Delaware’s underclassman women’s 6k delivered more notable performances on the challenging course. Sophomore Alli Hartman led the Blue Hens, crossing the line in 28:38. Sophomore Erika Danysh followed, breaking the 30-minute mark with a time of 29:51, while Greta Bretz was close behind at 30:00. Sophomore Anna Callaghan ended her sophomore season with a time of 31:13, and freshman Caroline O’Neill rounded out Delaware’s top five with a solid finish of 31:58.

In the underclassman men’s 8k, sophomore Sean Simonini had a breakout race, leading Delaware with a time of 31:44. Sophomore Dylan Aks showed his hard work paying off, finishing next at 31:53. Freshman Aiden Loy was not far behind, crossing the line in 31:56, while freshman Max Gillen impressed with his time of 32:26. Sophomore Cole Donnelly rounded out Delaware’s top five underclassman men with a strong finish of 32:41.

A notable mention for Coach Mark Keese and junior Jack Pelczar, who ran the open 6k and crossed the line together in 33:03 creating a core memory for both of them and the team!

Although Delaware’s cross-country season has come to an end, the team is already looking ahead to the winter and spring track seasons!

Full results can be found here.

Senior Aine Grubb during her race.
Senior Caden MacHenry during his race.
Our 2024 NIRCA Nationals team!

Blue Hens Impress at NIRCA Nationals Earning All-Time Performances and All-American Recognition

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The Blue Hens made the long trek out to Richmond, VA to compete in the 2024 NIRCA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Competing against teams from all around the country, Delaware athletes did not fall short of notable performances.

Saturday’s running events were off to an exciting start in the Women’s 100m preliminaries. Freshman Autumn Williams showcased her talent, securing 6th place with an impressive time of 12.64. Advancing to the finals, she earned one of three All-American awards. Notably, Williams’s remarkable performance now stands as the fastest 100m time in team history. Freshman Amanda Desenchak showed improvement in the 100m, finishing 32nd, clocking in at 13.73. Freshman James Winston led Delaware in the Men’s 100m, finishing 36th overall, and securing the 7th fastest time in team history with a time of 11.69. Sophomore Grace Wertheimer and junior Jude Mazzola showcased their skills in the 400mH, with times of 1:22.5 and 1:11.9, respectively.

The Women’s 4x800m of Pollock, Grubb, Callaghan, and Burke secured a spot on the all-time list with their time of 11:39.5. The Men’s 4x800m teams also made their mark, with Group A (Pawlik, Sheaffer, Lobo, Kelly) securing fourth spot on the performance list with a time of 8:34.9 and Group B  (Hutchinson, Donnely, Christie, Lazev) sneaking into the 10th spot securing it with a time of 9:20.0. The Women’s 1500m showcased a series of impressive performances. Freshman Carly Curnutt placed within the top 50 and set a fast pace, clocking an impressive time of 5:39.5 to lead the Blue Hens. Sophomore Katie Burke closely followed, finishing in a respectable 5:40.8. Freshman Kate Kershaw clocked in at 5:52.5, comfortably below the 6-minute barrier. Senior and captain Daniel Giron led the pack and finished strong in the Men’s 1500m with a time of 4:34.9. Giron set a new personal best and placed 110th out of 247 competitors. Sophmore Evan Diefenbeck followed behind Giron finishing in 4:36.3. Senior Matt Scarpelli and sophomore Liam Trageser both achieved new personal records while battling at the line for the third Delaware spot. Scarpelli finished with a time of 4:38.3, closely followed by Trageser at 4:38.4, with just a tenth of a second separating them.

In the Women’s 4x100m relay, Delawares “A” team of Samantha Radinsky, Autumn Williams, Rilee McMahan, and Amanda Desenchak, showcased an impressive performance, clocking in at 54.43. Their outstanding effort secured them 7th place overall, earning an All-American award and solidifying the fastest 4x100m time in team history. The Men’s 4x100m relay team, consisting of Kurt Krummenacker, Dan Toms, Emmanuel Carreno, and Shane Isacson finished with a time of 48.17, placing 15th overall. Autumn Williams continued to shine in the Women’s 200m, qualifying for the finals with a time of 26.74 by securing 4th place in the prelims. Her impressive performance places her as the second fastest time on the team outdoor records list. In the finals, she finished 8th with a time of 26.78, successfully earning her third All-American award, becoming our most decorated athlete of the meet. Following Williams was freshman Amanda Desenchak placing 26th overall with a time of 28.75, and junior Eli Manning also placing within the top 30 crossing the finish line in 29:03. Senior Dan Toms and sophomore Kurt Krummenacker represented Delaware in the Men’s 200m both securing positions in the top 60 overall. Toms finished with a time of 24.12 with Krummenacker closely following at 24.18.

In the Women’s 400m, Ella Maletta maintained her fifth spot on the performance list finishing 24th overall with a time of 1:05.44, followed by junior Eli Manning finishing just behind placing 28th in 1:06.2. Freshman Devan Wasserman led the Men’s 400m with an impressive time of 54.68, followed closely by senior Ryan Lazev at 55.59, both placing in the top 50. Day one concluded with the the women’s 5k, but did not fall short of outstanding performances. Freshmen Natalie Greger and Kate Kershaw both set new personal records in the 5k, with Greger finishing in 20:41.3 and Kershaw in 21:11.3.

Sophomore Lianna Greenstein excelled in field events, securing 5th place overall in the triple jump and setting a new personal record with a mark of 36ft (10.9m). Her impressive performance earned Greenstein an All-American award for the triple jump, and still sits at the top of the all-time list.

Kicking off day two was sophomore Matthew Kwiatkowski’s men’s 5k time of 15:37.3, overtaking the 10th spot on the all-time list and setting a new personal record. Grace Wertheimer maintained her fifth spot on the performance list in the Women’s 100m hurdles with a time of 19.27. Ella Maletta and Anna Callaghan shined for Delaware in the Women’s 800m, with Maletta taking 11th overall finishing in 2:29.5 and Callaghan placing 28th in 2:36.2. Dave Kelly led the charge for the Men’s 800m also placing 11th overall with a respectable time of 1:58.9. Freshman Ryan Healy and sophomore Evan Pawlik rounded out the top three for Delaware finishing in 2:10.0 and 2:11.5 respectively. Sophmore Katie Burke showcased her skills in the Women’s 3k steeple, placing 9th overall with a time of 12:43.9, which improves her previous time and moves her up to third all-time on the team in the event.

In the 4×4 relays, both the Delaware Men’s and Women’s teams delivered solid performances, In the Women’s 4x400m relay, the Delaware “A” team of Eli Manning, Grace Wertheimer, Aine Grubb, and Anna Callaghan finished in the top 20 with a time of 4:43.5, and now holds seventh fastest 4x4oom time in team history. In the Men’s 4x400m relay, the Delaware “A” team composed of Ryan Lazev, Devan Wasserman, Josh Pawlik, and Spencer Wheeler finished in 3:39.7, placing them ninth on the performance list.

Delaware showcased their skill and dedication, earning multiple All-American awards and achieving new personal records. The Blue Hens will continue working hard to prepare for our inaugural Blue Hen Invitational on April 20th, located on our home turf in Newark, DE.

Full results can be found here.

Burke racing the 3k steeplechase.
Delaware team photo at NIRCA Nationals.
Our most decorated athlete, Autumn Williams.

Delaware’s Winter Season Concludes at the Happy Valley Invitational

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The Delaware Club Track & Field team traveled to Penn State for the Happy Valley Invitational to close out their indoor season. Many performances landed a spot on the indoor performance list. With strong performances across sprints, field events, mid-distance, and distance events, the teams demonstrated their competitiveness and determination as they continued to strive for success throughout the season.

Starting the day was Delaware’s first mixed 4×4 relay. Our relay team, consisting of junior Eli Manning, and seniors Aine Grubb, Daniel Giron, and Ryan Lazev, put on an impressive performance, securing 9th place with a time of 4:23, placing them first on the indoor performance list. Following shortly after were the Women’s and Men’s distance medley relay teams. Junior Delaney Oeth, freshman Anna Callaghan, and sophomores Katie Burke and Meghan Tekelenburg worked together in the women’s DMR finishing with a time of 15:38 and securing 8th place on the indoor performance list. The men’s DMR team of sophomores Evan Diefenbeck, Josh Pawlik, Brady Sheaffer, and freshman Cole Donnelly, finished in 11th place with a time of 11 minutes and 45 seconds and secured 7th place on the indoor performance list.

There were notable performances across both the men’s and women’s teams in the sprints and field events. Freshman Autumn Williams impressed in the Women’s 60m Dash, placing 6th with a time of 8.27. Freshmen Amanda Desenchak followed closely behind, securing 14th place with a time of 8.77. In the Men’s 60m Dash, senior Daniel Toms led the way with a 28th-place finish at 7.68 seconds. Junior Jude Mazzola represented our hurdlers in the men’s 60m hurdles clocking in at 11.08. Both the men’s and women’s 4×2 relay teams showcased their speed, as the men’s team (Krummenacker, Toms, Lazev, Isacson) finishing 9th with a time of 1:44.75 and the women’s team (Radinsky, Lomax, Manning, Greenstein) finishing 6th with a time of 2:05.8.

Freshman Emmanuel Carreno represented the men’s team with a time of 26.1 in the 200m. Freshmen Autumn Williams (27.4) and Amanda Desenchak (28.5) dominated the women’s 200m placing 5th and 8th overall, and securing the second and fourth spots on the indoor performance list. Freshman Devan Wasserman represented the men’s team with a time of 55.1 in the 400m, while Callaghan led the women’s team with a time of 1:09.9, securing 8th place on the performance list. Continuing her successful season, sophomore Lianna Greenstein showcased her talents in the Women’s Long Jump, securing 4th place with a jump of 4.7 meters, setting a new indoor personal record, and solidifying her position at the top of the performance list. Additionally, in the triple jump, Greenstein continued her success, placing 4th with a jump of 10.16 meters.

The distance events saw strong performances from the men’s and women’s teams. Sean Simonini broke the 5-minute barrier for the first time in the men’s mile, clocking in at 4:58.5. Senior captain Daniel Giron also stayed under 5 minutes with a time of 4:58.9. Retruning from injury sophomore Evan Pawlik finished close behind in a respectable 5:02. Sophmore Josh Pawlik dominated the men’s 800m race set a new collegiate pr with his time of 2:04. In the Women’s Mile, Freshman Ella Maletta led the way with a time of 5:58, followed closely by sophomore Katie Burke at 6:07.

The men’s and womens 3k race did not disappoint. Sophomore Brady Sheaffer achieved a significant milestone in the Men’s 3k, breaking 9 minutes for the first time with a personal best of 8:59.5, earning him 8th place on the indoor performance list. Sophomore Evan Diefenbeck followed closely behind, securing 10th place with a time of 9:07.5. In the Women’s 3k, freshmen Natalie Greger and Kate Kershaw showcased their hard work, finishing with times of 12:21.6 and 12:27.4, respectively.

As the Happy Valley Invitational drew to a close, so did Delaware’s Indoor season. Our athletes showcased their talent and are ready to dominate the spring season. On February 24th Delaware will head to American University in Washington, DC to compete at Capital Relays!

Full results can be found here.

Delawares mixed 4×4 relay team.
Sheaffer racing to break 9 minutes in the 3k.
Desenchak starting her 200m race.

Horgan Finishes His Illustrious Career With an Undefeated Season as Delaware Wraps Up The 2023 Season On Their Home Track

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For their final meet of the season, the Delaware Club Track & Field team journeyed to their very own Grant Stadium for the Delaware Invitational. The club team was able to compete at their own campus for the first time since 2018 thanks to this meet, which was hosted by University of Delaware’s Women’s Division I Track & Field team. Unfortunately, the bad weather theme continued for the Blue Hens, with rain falling for the entirety of the contest. But per usual, the squad faced the elements and dropped some heat on the track.

The wettest meet of the season started with the wettest event, the 3,000-meter steeplechase. The water clearly didn’t bother the Blue Hens because two of them smashed their personal bests by 30-plus seconds. Freshman Kaitlyn Burke continued her steeplechase progression by dropping a 12:54.38-second run to place 4th overall in the meet and move up to 4th on the all-time performance list, passing Kendra Cutler’s time from 2019. Senior Jenna Mlecko followed Burke in 5th place at 13:00.83. Mlecko ended her collegiate steeple career with a 36-second improvement on her personal best, which also moved her above Cutler on the performance list.

Despite a very quick turnaround, the duo of Burke and Mlecko also put in great work in the 1500-meter race. The girls placed back-to-back once again, with Burke (5:36.77) and Mlecko (5:37.93) placing 9th and 10th respectively. On the men’s side, senior Alex Horgan once again came out on top, running 4:00.01 in his final 1500 of his collegiate career. Fellow senior Sasha Latina also placed in the top-5 in his final collegiate 1500, his 4:22.21 was good for 4th place overall. Michael Toy (4:24.29) and Caden MacHenry (4:37.61) placed 6th and 7th respectively, and both set new personal bests.

The women’s 4×100 has had a rotation of a few different faces for Delaware, and for the third time this year, a new squad added themselves to the performance list. The group consisting of Sam Radinsky, Gianna Dowling, Grace Wertheimer, Lianna Greenstein added their names to the outdoor performance list at 6th place, and their 57.42-second relay was good for 3rd place at the meet. In the open 100-meter dash, Delaware’s club team took the top two spots in the men’s event. Freshmen DJ Seals (11.71) and Kurt Krummenacker (11.77) took first and second place overall, and Seals’ 0.01-second improvement on his collegiate best was good enough to separate himself from Brandon Lichtenstein to move up to 8th all-time in the club’s history. The freshman duo of Seals and Krummenacker also took podium spots in the 200-meter dash. Seals once again won the event with a time of 23.92, and this race tied Brandon Farzad for 8th all-time in club history. Krummenacker landed in third place at 24.47.

The mid-distance events featured a couple of victories from Blue Hens on the men’s side, all of whom making their season debuts. In the 400-meter race, junior Cam Harrington debuted his season with the 10th fastest outdoor time in club history. Harrington’s 52.81-second race was just enough to hold off the competition to give him the win by just under 0.3 seconds, and edged out Brett Tielman-Fenelus’ time from 2013 by 0.01 seconds to land on the outdoor performance list. Freshman Dave Kelly came out of nowhere to win the 800-meter dash at 2:08.60 to start his college career. Junior Riley McAvinue (1:03.46) didn’t just make his season debut, but his collegiate debut on the track with a win in the 400-meter hurdle race. McAvinue’s time was also good enough to land him at 6th all-time on the outdoor performance list.

The men’s 5k wrapped up the meet in glorious fashion, with the top four spots being owned by members of Delaware’s Track Club. Alex Horgan ended his college track career with an undefeated record in individual events this season. Horgan took his 8th straight victory and broke the 15-minute mark for the second time, running 14:56.08. Senior Chris Clandra (16:54.34) also finished his collegiate track career with a podium finish, coming in 3rd. High school teammates Aravind Arunachalam and Jack Pelczar finished their seasons with a pair of personal bests. Arunachalam finished second in 16:33.63, and Pelczar (16:56.12) broke the 17-minute mark for the first time ever to place 4th.

Full meet results can be found here.

Horgan and Latina embracing after their final race together

MacHenry elated by his new personal best in the 1500

Radinsky locking in for the 4×100

The seven seniors who ended their careers after this meet. Left to right: Chris Calandra, Sasha Latina, Jenna Mlecko, Alex Horgan, Madeleine Dorley, John Papadopoulos, Matt Bieker

Greenstein Headlines a Day Filled with New Personal Bests for Delaware

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The Delaware Club Track & Field team returned to Salisbury University for the second time this season for the penultimate meet of the season. Just like the Lloyd Sigler Spring meet, the Eastern Shore Challenge contained fierce wind gusts that limited the runners. But once again, the Blue Hens didn’t let the weather damper their competitive spirits.

The meet started out fast in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, with multiple new personal bests and a clean sweep of the field. Freshman Kaitlyn Burke majorly improved upon her last steeplechase time by 40 seconds, winning the race in 13:24.87. This improvement also allowed her to jump her teammate, Jenna Mlecko, for 5th place in the club’s history. Mlecko shouldn’t be too dejected however, because her 13:36.08 narrowly improved upon her personal best time from almost exactly a year ago. Maggie Huizinga took the third and final podium spot for the race, finishing in 16:05.01. The 4×100-meter squad of Grace Wertheimer, Sam Radinsky, Rilee McMahan, Lianna Greenstein also improved upon their season best time. Their 57.67-second race landed them in third place for the meet, and also moved the group up to 6th all-time on the performance list.

The first action from Delaware’s male runners came in the 1500-meter race. Alex Horgan took yet another victory, leading the field in 4:04.26. Michael Anderson (4:14.53), Brady Sheaffer (4:18.53), and Aravind Arunachalam (4:18.78) all set new bests in the race, Anderson and Scheaffer also added five more points to the team total by placing in 5th and 8th respectively. On the women’s side, two freshmen placed in the top-15 in their first running of the 1500. Burke (5:44.33) placed 11th in her 1500-meter debut, while Hannah Heredia (5:46.65) placed 14th in hers.

Grace Wertheimer added 12 more points in the two hurdle events. The freshman placed 5th in the 100-meter hurdles, and set a new collegiate best of 1:23.56 in the 400-meter hurdles to place 2nd. Fellow freshman and 4×100-meter relay-mate Rilee McMahan also scored in both of her individual events. McMahan placed 7th in the 100-meter dash at 14.46 seconds, and 8th in the 200-meter dash at 30.64 seconds. Junior Sam Radinsky (15.09) also managed points in the women’s 100, placing 8th. DJ Seals was the third and final freshman to score in the short sprint events. Seals tied for 7th place in the 100-meter, scoring 1.5 points for his 11.89-second effort.

Alyssa Blocker made her season debut on the track in the 800-meter race. She just missed out on scoring by placing 9th, running 2:42.49. The men had three scorers in the 800 for a total of 9 points. Anderson placed third at 2:03.89 for his second placement of the day. Both Evan and Josh Pawlik finished in the 2:11 mark, with Evan edging Josh out by a tenth of a second to place 7th, landing his brother at 8th.

Due to an incoming thunderstorm, the men’s 5k was the final event of the day, and the best was saved for last. Despite the heaviest winds yet, two Blue Hens put up massive performances to set new all-time personal bests. Brady Sheaffer ran 16:44.26 in his first 5,000 of the season, and senior Chris Calandra smashed a multi-year long goal of breaking 17 by finishing right behind Sheaffer at 16:44.98.

All three women who competed in the field events scored, as well as either setting or tying their personal bests. Huizinga once again placed third, this time, matching her personal best jump of 1.45-meters in the high jump. Freshman Maggie Morris improved upon her club-best mark in the shot put, placing 7th on a 9.42-meter throw. Lianna Greenstein had two massive performances in the horizontal jumping events. In the triple jump, she improved upon her all-time best by .8-meters, which resulted in a win in the event. In the long jump, she only placed 5th, but her 5.08-meter jump smashed her previous best. This gave her the top spot in the club’s history, breaking Catherine Dolan’s nine-year-old record. Greenstein is now the only woman in the club’s history to clear both five meters in the long jump and ten meters in the triple jump. No other woman has cleared either of those marks, and it isn’t even close.

Overall, the men placed 6th with 25.5 points, while the women placed 4th with 68.

The club looks forward to their final meet of the season, the Delaware Invitational, which will be held at their home track on April 28th.

Full meet results can be found here.

Sheaffer on his way to a new 5k PR

Morris setting up her throw

Horgan leading the field in the 1500

Evan Pawlik on the final stretch of the 800