BOONE, N.C. – The Elon University cross country programs competed in their second meet of the 2021 fall campaign at the Firetower Project hosted by Appalachian State on Friday, Sept. 17 at the Don Kennedy Trails. The Phoenix women claimed the team title at the meet while the maroon and gold men came in third overall.
 
The Elon women scored 28 total points, beating host Appalachian State who tallied 38 points as the runner-up. In the men's 8K, the Mountaineers won the team title with 18 points followed by Montreat (83) and Elon (85) to round out the top-three team scores.
 
"I'm excited about the many great race efforts throughout our team today," said Phoenix head cross country coach Kevin Jermyn. "I was surprised with how fast our women went out in the first mile. While it may have been too fast for our current fitness, it was great preparation for our championship races."
 
Individually, Maria Ahm won the women's 5K race as the junior set a new school-record with a time of 16:49.15. Two more Phoenix women – freshman Jette Beermann and junior Maggie Springer – also finished in the top-three of the race and set new personal-records in the 5K.
 
"Maria's individual victory and school record 5k time was impressive," Jermyn added. "She still has so much room for improvement this season. Although Jette is just a freshman, she ran with the composure of an upperclassmen. Maggie did a great job keeping tight with Maria in the early going and staying strong into the finish."
 
Women's Recap
• Ahm bested her previous school-record in the 5K by 30 seconds as the Holbæk, Denmark, native won her third career race.
• Beermann was the runner-up in the 5K with a time of 17:12.93 – now the second-best performance in school history. Springer completed the podium sweep for the Phoenix as the Chapel Hill, N.C., native was third with a time of 17:17.19 – third-best time in school history.
• Redshirt sophomore Leandra Lorenz was eighth overall with her personal-best time of 17:40.13. Hannah Miller was the fifth Phoenix runner to cross the line with her time of 18:06.80 in 14^th.
 
Men's Recap
• Aidan Tierney again paced the Phoenix men as the junior ran a time of 25:34.21 and was fifth overall and was the fourth collegiate runner to cross the finish line.
• Sophomore Zane Jackson came across next for the Phoenix, coming in at eighth with a time of 26:18.57.
• Freshman Daniel King was the third runner to finish for Elon with a time of 26:48.16 in 19^th. Sophomore Cameron Dunn was 28^th with a time of 27:17.70 while Anthony Bamford completed the top-five runners for the Phoenix with his time of 28:21.79 in 53^rd.
 
Jermyn's Final Thoughts
"I was proud of how Aidan went for the individual victory and proud of how he maintained composure in the fourth mile," said Jermyn. "Zane ran the most aggressive cross country race I've seen of so far. Daniel ran with composure in the early going and attacked the last half of the race nicely. All in all, it was a good day of racing for most of our team. I am looking forward to putting in two more big weeks of training and then racing our full team at Coastal Carolina on October 1."
 
On Deck
Elon heads to Coastal Carolina for the Chanticleer Challenge on Friday, Oct. 1.
 
Women's Results – Elon 1^st place (28 points)
1. Maria Ahm – 16:49.15*
2. Jette Beermann – 17:12.93^
3. Maggie Springer – 17:19.19^
8. Leandra Lorenz – 17:40.13^
14. Hannah Miller – 18:06.80
19. Hannah Preeo – 18:14.78
35. Lizzie Vinci – 18:57.71
74. Bailey Reutinger – 20:34.96
 
Men's Results – Elon 3^rd place (85 points)
5. Aidan Tierney – 25:34.21
8. Zane Jackson – 26:18.57
19. Daniel King – 26:48.16
28. Cameron Dunn – 27:17.70
53. Anthony Bamford – 28:21.79
75. Martin Adams – 30:38.67