Louisville KY - Elon University’s cross country teams completed the team portion of their seasons at the NCAA Southeast Regional meet, with the women’s team placing ninth and the men’s team 21st. 

There are nine NCAA regional competitions each year, with the top two finishing teams in both the women’s 6k and men’s 10k races in each event earning an automatic bid for the season ending NCAA Championship meet. 

With 279 points, Elon’s women’s team placed ninth out of 31 teams in the 6k race. Junior Maria Ahm paced the team with a time of 21:02, finishing 30th out of 223 runners. Ahm finished five spots away from earning All-Region honors, which went to the race’s top 25 finishers. 

Junior Maggie Springer (21:31), redshirt sophomore Leandra Lorenz (21:45), freshman Jette Beermann (21:50) and senior Hannah Preeo (22:00) also scored for Elon. 

North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina placed first and second in the women’s 6k and qualified for the NCAA Championships.

The men’s team finished 21st out of 30 teams with 571 points. Junior Aidan Tierney set a new personal best in the men’s 10k race with a time of 31:20, the third fastest time in Elon history. He finished 84th out of 222 runners. 

Sophomore Zane Jackson placed 106th with a time of 31:56. Senior Andrew Miller (32:10), junior Tamer Metwalli (32:23) and freshman Daniel King (33:00) rounded out the Phoenix’s scoring.  

Wake Forest University and Furman University earned the two automatic berths for the NCAA Championships by finishing first and second in the 10k race. 

The NCAA will announce 13 at-large selections for the NCAA Championships on Nov. 13 at 5 p.m. Neither Elon’s men’s or women’s team has ever earned an at-large selection to the event. 

Additionally, the top four finishers in the women’s 6k and men’s 10k from each regional not on a team that advanced to the NCAA Championships’ team competition received automatic bids to compete in the event. Two more men and women will receive at-large bids to compete, which will also be announced on Nov. 13 at 5 p.m. Only two Elon individuals have ever competed at the NCAA Championships - Ahm in the spring of 2021 and Luis Vargas in 2014.