ELON, N.C. – The 2022 season begins this Friday night, Sept. 2, for the Elon men's and women's cross country programs as the Phoenix hosts its annual home meet, the Elon Opener, at the Elon Cross Country Course near the campus' recreational fields.
 
The races begin with the women's 4K at 8:15 p.m. followed by the men's 6K at approximately 8:45 p.m.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
• Live results will be provided and can be found on the Elon cross country schedule page at elonphoenix.com.
 
TEAMS IN COMPETITION
• Along with Elon, the rest of the teams in competition at this Friday's meet includes Duke, East Carolina, UNCW, Campbell, Bluefield State, Meredith, Pfeiffer, Shaw and Voorhees College.
 
ELON WOMEN'S 2022 PREVIEW
• The Phoenix welcomes back 19 runners from its team from last season that successfully won its third straight Colonial Athletic Association championship last fall.
• Elon brings back its top-four harriers from the CAA Championships including two-time defending league individual champion and Runner of the Year Maria Ahm.
• Other returning All-CAA runners include senior Maggie Springer – who finished third at last year's CAA championship meet – Leandra Lorenz and Jette Beermann, the league's reigning CAA Rookie of the Year.
• Sixth-year Phoenix head coach Kevin Jermyn was selected as the CAA Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year for the third straight season last fall. Jermyn helped the maroon and gold to a pair of meet wins last fall and a ninth-place standing at the NCAA Southeast Regional Championships.
 
ELON MEN'S 2022 PREVIEW
• The Elon men's roster returns seven letterwinners from its squad a season ago while also welcoming 10 new faces.
• Among the notable returners includes senior Andrew Miller, a three-time All-CAA performer in his career at Elon.
• Junior Zane Jackson is the top returning finisher for the Phoenix from last year's CAA Championship meet. The Charleston, S.C., native just missed out on All-CAA honors as he finished 13^th at the league meet.
• The Phoenix men finished third overall at the CAA Championships and concluded its season with a 21^st-place finish at the NCAA Southeast Regional Championships.
 
UP NEXT
• The Phoenix will split for a pair of meets for its next race on Friday, Sept. 16, with most of the teams heading to Cary, N.C., for the adidas XC Challenge. Select members of both programs will head to Bloomington, Ind., for the Coach Tree Invitation.