ELON, N.C. – Nobody makes winning look more effortless than the Elon University women's cross country team but this season's march to another CAA championship was far from routine.
The four-time defending CAA champions entered this season with high expectations but also critical unknowns and question marks. With injuries holding key runners such as Leandra Lorenz and Anna Twomey out for most of the fall and a talented yet unproven freshman class, Elon had to overcome adversity and build chemistry to maintain its spot atop the league.
Even on the season's defining day, the maroon and gold had to dig deep and overcome an uncharacteristic tough start.
"[The race] started off relatively slow. Actually, not relatively slow. It started off really slow," Jette Beermann said. "Eventually, the pace became a lot quicker and then it got a little more difficult. The slow start made it much easier to find one another in the pack."
As the 6K race progressed, Elon runners began to make their way to the front as the team overtook Northeastern for the lead. By race's end, four Phoenix runners placed in the top 10, five earned All-CAA honors and seven finished in the top 20 as the maroon and gold capped off a team championship in all so familiar dominant fashion.
Elon's 19-point margin of victory matched its winning interval from last season. Beermann led the way for Elon in third, followed closely by Lorenz, in just her second race of the season, in fourth. Katie Blount, Maggie Springer and Hattie Reynolds all finished in the top 12 for All-CAA spots.
Elon's depth has been on display all season long, with underclassmen runners stepping up to compliment the team's decorated group of seniors and fifth-years. For
Madison Synowiec, who finished 16th in the CAA Championship, the team's fifth-years – Lorenz, Springer, Twomey and
Hannah Miller – have transformed the program with their leadership.
"It makes everyone feel really confident and comfortable knowing what to do pre-race and during the race," Synowiec said. "Seeing them lead is really helpful, especially to the freshmen and sophomores when they're such a big class."
With 11 freshmen and a roster of 28 total runners, Elon was able to take its training to the next level this season, which Beermann said prepared the team for its championship race.
"We've been able to work together in training so well and have big training and workout groups, which is really helpful," Beermann said. "It's easier to find one another during the race and have so many people finishing in the top 20 because we do this every day in training together. It really helps to work as a team."
With the victory, Elon joins William & Mary as the only CAA team to win at least five conference championships in a row. Given the high expectations and adversity Elon went through this season, Beermann said this year's title is extra special.
"It sounds easier than it is, winning five in a row," Beermann said. "We've worked so well together as a team and stepping in for one another. This year was really good winning for one another."
While Elon has secured a conference title, the season is far from over. The maroon and gold is back in action Friday at NCAA Southeast Regionals and will look to qualify for the NCAA Championships.
"We definitely all have been working really hard for this since midway through summer. We've all been putting in the work," Synowiec said. "We're all ready to go out and perform, and if we can all have a good day, we can do something really special."
'Rising Phoenix' is a new student-led initiative to cover Elon Athletics. Through innovative content creation and storytelling, Elon University students will have the opportunity to highlight the moments, people and events that make an impact, leveraging the athletic department's various web and social media platforms for distribution. Follow Rising Phoenix on Twitter (@EURisingPhoenix) and Instagram (@elonrisingphoenix). Interested in joining this initiative as a content creator (video, graphics, writing, storytelling, or more)? Contact Jacob Kisamore at jkisamore@elon.edu.
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