Elon's Blount Selected As CAA Women's Cross Country Runner Of The Year
Rob Washburn
RICHMOND, Va. (December 11, 2025) – Elon junior
Katie Blount was chosen as the 2025 CAA Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Year after a record-setting season for the Phoenix.
Joining Blount as major award winners were William & Mary senior
Perry Irons and Hofstra freshman
Isabella Spagnoli, who were selected as the CAA Women’s Cross Country Co-Rookies of the Year, and Elon’s
Mark Rinker, who earned CAA Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year accolades for the first time. The awards were determined by a vote of the league’s head coaches.
Blount was the individual champion at the CAA Cross Country Championship, posting a winning time of 19:55 that was the second fastest in championship history. The junior was the runner-up at the prestigious Paul Short Run with a 6K time of 19:37.1 which set an Elon record and was the fifth-fastest in the event’s history. She also set an Elon 5K record (16:41.4) at the adidas XC Challenge. Blount capped her season by placing 33
rd at the NCAA Southeast Regional. She is the fourth Elon athlete to earn CAA Runner of the Year accolades since 2018.
Irons, who had never competed in cross country prior to this season, made an immediate impact for the Tribe. The senior finished second at the CAA Cross Country Championship with a time of 20:01.60, which was the fastest by a William & Mary runner since 2015. She followed with a 39
th-place effort at the NCAA Southeast Regional (20:29.3). Other highlights for Irons included an individual victory at the Appalachian State Firetower Project Invitational, a second-place performance at the Virginia Invitational and an eighth-place outing at the Princeton Invitational.
Spagnoli turned in a sensational freshman campaign for the Pride. She posted a time of 21:01.4 to place fifth at the CAA Cross Country Championship, which was the best finish for a Hofstra runner at the event since 2005. The freshman claimed the individual title at the Metropolitan Cross Country Championship with a 5K time of 17:15, which was the second-fastest in program history. Spagnoli concluded her season by finishing 63
rd at the NCAA Northeast Regional.
Rinker guided Elon to its sixth CAA Women’s Cross Country Championship in seven years in his second season at the helm of the program. The Phoenix posted a dominant performance at the event with Blount leading a group of four runners in the top eight and five others placing in the top 18.
The top 15 finishers from the CAA Championship were recognized as all-conference performers. Those honorees are listed in alphabetical order.
2025 CAA WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY ALL-CONFERENCE HONOREES
Abigail Beville, Elon
Katie Blount, Elon
Kate Buerger, Elon
Deavion Deleon, North Carolina A&T
Keira Gamily, Northeastern
Shaylen Goslar, Stony Brook
Perry Irons, William & Mary
Brianna Jucewicz, Monmouth
Sarah Petitjean, Elon
Kristen Sarnicola, Monmouth
Quinn Smith, Elon
Isabella Spagnoli, Hofstra
Hannah Weber, Elon
Molly Weithman, William & Mary
Jasmine Young, Elon