ELON – The Elon men's and women's cross country teams will start the 2025 season with the annual Elon Opener on Friday night.
Races will begin with the women's 4K at 8:15 p.m. ET, followed by the men's 6K at approximately 8:45 p.m. ET. Both races will be held at the Elon Cross Country Course on campus. A high school-level 3K race will also take place prior to the collegiate races at 7:50 p.m. ET.
MEET INFORMATION
- Date & Time: Friday, Aug. 29 | 8:15 p.m. ET (Women) / 8:45 p.m. ET (Men)
- Location: Elon, North Carolina | Elon Cross Country Course
- Live Results: ElonPhoenix.com
- Course Map: ElonPhoenix.com
TEAMS IN COMPETITION
Campbell, Coastal Carolina, Davidson, East Carolina, Elon, Greensboro College, High Point, Meredith College, Montreat College, North Carolina A&T, Presbyterian, Shaw, UNCW, USC Sumter
WHAT TO KNOW – ELON WOMEN
- Elon returns 16 women from a 2024 squad that placed third at the CAA Championships last November.
- Among the returners are 2024 All-CAA runners Abby Beville and Hannah Weber, who placed 11th and 12th, respectively, at the 2024 CAA Championships. Senior Sarah Petitjean – a top-five finisher for the Phoenix (19th) at CAAs last fall – is also back.
- Senior Jasmine Young is another returner. She won the individual title at the 2024 Phoenix Invitational, clocking 21:58.7.
- Among Elon's newcomers are three freshmen – Ashland Dickel, Grace Lavelle and Emilia Smith – as well as redshirt junior transfer Alicen Ashley, who joined the Phoenix from Tulsa, where she was the 2023 AAC Women's Outdoor Track & Field Freshman of the Year.
- Prior to the third-place effort at the CAA Championships last year, the Elon women won five consecutive conference titles (2019-23). Elon became the first CAA squad to win five consecutive conference titles since William & Mary did so from 2012-18.
WHAT TO KNOW – ELON MEN
- Redshirt junior Evan Taylor was a 2024 All-CAA honoree – Elon's first men's selection since 2022 – last fall after placing 13th (25:18.10) in the conference meet. Taylor also captured the 2024 Phoenix Invitational individual title in 25:27.8.
- The Elon men's roster includes 11 returnees and six freshman newcomers. Among the returnees are senior Caden Strickland, who narrowly missed out on All-CAA honors last year as he placed 20th at the championship meet.
- The Phoenix took fifth place as a team at the 2024 CAA Championships, led by Taylor and Strickland's top-20 efforts.
- Elon's men placed third in last year's Elon Opener 6K race. Strickland was the top Phoenix finisher in sixth place at 18:39.8 while Jack Kane took 14th in 19:04.8.
STAY POSTED
For further coverage of Elon cross country, follow the Phoenix on X (@ElonXCTF) and Instagram (ElonXCTF).
