
Pirate Women 4th, Men 3rd at Elon Opener
September 01, 2023 | Cross Country
ELON, N.C. – The East Carolina cross country team opened their season on Friday at Elon's "Friday Night Lights" Opener. The Pirate women finished fourth in the meet led by Alyssa Zack in 14th while the men finished third led by Alex Sawyer who finished 17th.
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The Pirate women opened the night with their 4K race where Zack led the charge with her 13:59.8 finished. Zack was followed up by Allysa Combs and Lily Schlossberg in 19th and 21st, respectively while Hayley Whoolery (24th) and Jessica Neal (28th) rounded out the scoring in her first race in Purple and Gold.
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The men took to the course to end the night with a 6K race where Sawyer led the pack in 18:09.1. Ted Sielatycki was close behind in 18:12.5 with Nick Willer not too far behind. Colin McCauley (38th), Sam Dewar (47th) and Conner O'Shea (49th) rounded out the ECU scoring.
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Quotable
"Really great start to the year," said coach Billy Caldwell. "All of our returners ran a lot faster than last year. This is the best I've seen our men and women run together and as a group. This is a great foundation point to the rest of the season! Our group clearly worked really hard this summer and it showed in the big step forward we took today"
Full Team Scores
Women
Men
Up Next
The Pirates will be back in action in two weeks as they toe the line at N.C. State's Adidas XC Challenge on Sept. 15 in Cary, N.C.
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The Pirate women opened the night with their 4K race where Zack led the charge with her 13:59.8 finished. Zack was followed up by Allysa Combs and Lily Schlossberg in 19th and 21st, respectively while Hayley Whoolery (24th) and Jessica Neal (28th) rounded out the scoring in her first race in Purple and Gold.
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The men took to the course to end the night with a 6K race where Sawyer led the pack in 18:09.1. Ted Sielatycki was close behind in 18:12.5 with Nick Willer not too far behind. Colin McCauley (38th), Sam Dewar (47th) and Conner O'Shea (49th) rounded out the ECU scoring.
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Quotable
"Really great start to the year," said coach Billy Caldwell. "All of our returners ran a lot faster than last year. This is the best I've seen our men and women run together and as a group. This is a great foundation point to the rest of the season! Our group clearly worked really hard this summer and it showed in the big step forward we took today"
Full Team Scores
Women
- Duke – 15
- High Point – 45
- Elon – 80
- East Carolina – 95
- UNCW – 176
- Campbell – 202
- Meredith – 210
- N.C. A&T – 220
- Winthrop – 237
- Fayetteville State – 293
- USC Aiken – 311
- UNC Pembroke – 312
- Barton – 385
- Shaw – 408
Men
- Duke – 15
- High Point – 65
- East Carolina – 91
- Elon – 99
- Winthrop – 181
- UNCW – 194
- UNC Pembroke – 199
- Campbell – 249
- Barton – 273
- Fayetteville State – 281
- N.C. A&T – 299
- USC Aiken – 342
- Averett - 406
Up Next
The Pirates will be back in action in two weeks as they toe the line at N.C. State's Adidas XC Challenge on Sept. 15 in Cary, N.C.
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Players Mentioned
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Monday, September 15
9/09/25 Inside Pirate Athletics
Tuesday, September 09
ECU Head Coach Blake Harrell Weekly Press Conference (Sept. 8, 2025)
Monday, September 08
East Carolina Post-Game Interviews (Sept. 6, 2025)
Sunday, September 07