ELON – The Elon men's and women's cross country teams look to hoist championship trophies Friday morning when they compete at the 2025 Coastal Athletic Association Cross Country Championships in Lakewood, New Jersey. The women's 6K race will start at 10 a.m. ET and the men's 8K race will begin at 11 a.m. ET, with both taking place at Ocean County Park.
MEET INFORMATION
- Date & Time: Friday, Oct. 31 | 10 a.m. ET (Women's 6K) | 11 a.m. ET (Men's 8K)
- Location: Ocean County Park | Lakewood, New Jersey
- Championship Central: CAASports.com
WHAT TO KNOW – ELON WOMEN
- Elon's women will seek their sixth CAA Championship title in the past seven years, having won five in a row from 2019-23 before finishing third last season in head coach Mark Rinker's first year at the program's helm.
- Elon owns five of the top six – and six of the top 10 – 6K times in the conference this season, including redshirt junior Katie Blount's school record 19:37.1 at the Paul Short Run on Oct. 3, which is more than 33 seconds faster than the next best mark by a CAA runner. Abby Beville (3rd, 20:33.6), Hannah Weber (4th, 20:56.3), Jasmine Young (5th, 21:11.6), Sarah Petitjean (6th, 21:13.2) and Madi Galindo (9th, 21:19.5) also own top 10 times in the conference this fall.
- Blount was voted as the CAA Runner of the Week three times this season, winning the award twice outright on Sept. 23 and Oct. 7 while sharing the honor on Oct. 21. Beville also shared the weekly award once on Sept. 2 after winning the Elon Opener 4K.
- Blount (20:10.1) and Beville (20:33.6) placed fourth and eighth, respectively, at the Panorama Farms Invitational 6K in Elon's last race, helping lead the Phoenix to a third-place finish overall.
- Three active Phoenix have previously earned All-CAA honors – which requires a top-15 individual finish at the CAA Championships – including Blount (2022, 2023), Beville (2024), Weber (2024).
- Three Phoenix have won the CAA Championship individual title, including Maria Ahm, who went back-to-back in 2020 – which saw her set a CAA Championship record with a 19:37.3 finish – and 2021. Coralea Geraniotis and Scolasticah Kemei also won individual titles in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
WHAT TO KNOW – ELON MEN
- The Phoenix most recently placed 13th overall at the Panorama Farms Invitational (Oct. 17), and 18th at the Paul Short Run (Oct. 3).
- Junior Joe Lavelle owns Elon's top 8K time this season with a 25:35.9 finish at the Paul Short Run. Juan Pablo Castillo-Zima (25:56.4), Jack Kane (25:56.5), Luke Chisum (26:14.7), Franklin Wimbish (26:31.1) and Caden Strickland (26:31.3) have posted the Phoenix's next five fastest 8K times.
- Three of Elon's top six 8K times are owned by freshmen – Castillo-Zima, Chisum and Wimbish – showing promise for what lies ahead for the men's program.
- Redshirt junior Evan Taylor is the team's lone athlete who has previously earned All-CAA honors, having finished 13th in last year's CAA Championship 8K race. Taylor has not yet raced this season for the Phoenix.
STAY POSTED
For further coverage of Elon cross country, follow the Phoenix on X (@ElonXCTF) and Instagram (ElonXCTF).
