Cross Country Ready to Battle for CAA Title

Saturday, October 30

Boston, Mass.

10:00 a.m.

University of Delaware

CAA Championships

10/29/2021 10:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country

BOSTON, Mass. – It has been 14 days since the Blue Hens blazed the trails! Now, the University of Delaware cross country team is zoning in on the upcoming Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Championships, hosted by Northeastern University.

"We're looking forward to the opportunity to compete with the rest of the conference this weekend," said head coach Ryan Waite. "These last two cross country seasons have been a challenge as we have navigated the pandemic, but we feel like we are finally in a place where we can compete to our potential."

The Blue Hens have been fortunate to race at Franklin Park in Boston, Mass. earlier this season (Sept. 24) and will use the advantage of seeing the course to edge the competition heading into championship Saturday.

Waite stated, "I'm really glad we went to the Battle at Beantown last month so we could see the course. It's definitely a challenging course and knowing what we are up against shaped our training the last five weeks. Hopefully what we did in that time has prepared us and we can have our best team performance of the year."

The Blue & Gold has seen success this season, especially earning the team title twice this season in the First State, headlined by Katie Hally winning the individual title at the Goldey-Beacom Fall Classic and Susanna Weir and Tina Capparell with their side-by-side finish at the Delaware Invitational. The last time Delaware was out was in Tallahassee, Fla. for the FSU XC Invite/Pre-Nationals (Oct. 15), capturing an eighth-place finish. Capparell shined in the event as she placed in the top-30 with a personal-best time of 21:37.1 for a 23rd-place finish. Weir followed with a time of 21:56.5 for 35th place and Hannah Lindgren took 41st place with a time of 21:57.1.

Waite commented, "Tina, Susanna, and Hannah ran really well at Pre-Nats. If they can duplicate that performance at conference and our remaining athletes can close the gap a little bit then I feel like we have a good shot to finish well."

During the abbreviated 2020-21 spring season, the Blue Hens captured a fifth-place finish with Capparell and Jessica Pidgeon earning All-CAA Team honors. With all the momentum trending upward for Delaware, the squad would love to beat their best finish in program history in the CAA championships of second place back in 2019. Capparell, Julien Webster, Pidgeon and Weir are the last remaining members of that historic finish would look to replicate it. Elon was crowned the CAA champs a season ago and with reining CAA Women's Runner of the Year the Phoenix's Maria Ahm returning, Delaware is looking to be part of the top finishers' conversation.

"Our best finish ever at the CAA Championships was 2nd place in 2019," Waite added. "We would love to duplicate that finish this year. Elon is probably the big favorite, then I think we will be in a tight team battle with JMU, William and Mary, and Northeastern for the runner-up spot."

Waite reflects, "No matter what the outcome is though, I'm really proud of what the group has done this year to put us in a position to be competitive at CAAs. That's all a coach can ask for."

Competing for the Blue Hens at the 6K course at Franklin Park this weekend: Susanna Weir, Tina Capparell, Katie Hally, Jessica Pidgeon, Julien Webster, Hannah Lindgren, Kate Rathman and Devon Hoernlein.

Women's Race: 10 a.m.
Live Stats: Click here.

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