Elon Women’s Cross Country and Track and Field Ready for Greece Global Experience

ELON, N.C. – The Elon University women’s cross country and track and field teams are set to become the latest athletic programs to take part in an unprecedented global experience as the Phoenix will embark on a journey to Greece from Nov. 18-27 to compete internationally while gaining an incredible overseas learning experience.

Women’s cross country and track and field become the latest Elon University athletic programs to travel abroad as a part of the Elon Commitment to diversity and global engagement for its students. The teams will travel to Athens, Olympia and Delphi during their nine-day trip as the student-athletes will also complete their learning requirement.

“Elon continues to give students amazing opportunities for global engagement and we are grateful and excited to travel to Greece,” said Elon Director of Cross Country and Track and Field Mark Elliston. “It’s a great chance for the teams to compete abroad, but also a great learning experience as well.

Elon professors Kristina Meinking of Classical Languages in the Department of World Languages and Cultures and Jason Husser of Political Science and Policy Studies will accompany the program on the trip leading the class labeled “Greece: Myth, Memory and Monument.” The class will introduce the students to the history of the ancient Greeks through various media, both ancient and modern. Other activities will include a tour of Olympia Stadium, visiting the Ossio Lucas Monastery and seeing the Greek Agora and the Roman Forum of Athens.

The teams will also compete at local meets at Panellinios Stadium, the most historical track and field club in the world.

This will be the first-ever abroad trip for both women’s cross country and track and field and the second this calendar year for an Elon athletic program. The Elon women’s basketball team traveled to Italy in August of 2016.

“Elon has worked hard to organize global experiences for its athletic programs and we’re thrilled to have this opportunity,” said Elliston. “I know I speak for the young women on the teams in sending our thanks to President (Leo) Lambert, Dave Blank, Faith Shearer, Jonathan Miller and Clay Hassard for each of their involvement with making this trip possible for our program.”

Keep up with the daily updates of the programs, as a member of the teams will share their experiences on social media on the program’s social media accounts on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. A student-athlete will also provide a daily journal of the trip on elonphoenix.com.