HONOLULU – With the start of a new semester, the Chaminade University men's and women's cross country teams are dealing with the typical adjustments that all university athletic programs are facing.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic that wiped out their fall season, the Silverswords will have an untraditional start to their traditional fall season Saturday at the Hawai'i Pacific University Invitational.
And because most state and city recreation facilities are still only open to limited gatherings, the event will be held at the former HPU Hawai'i Loa campus in Kaneohe, now owned and operated by the Castle Medical Group.
There are four seniors, two on the women's and men's teams. All four will compete this spring:
Riley Hallman (Renner, S.D./Tri-Valley) and
Olivia Mariucci (Templeton, Calif./Templeton) for the women;
Elijah Bernardo-Flores (Waipahu, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Kamehameha-Kapalama) and
Beau Larsen (Papillion, Neb./Daniel J. Gross Catholic) for the men. And thanks to the NCAA's waiver on eligibility for all student-athletes in fall sports, all four 'Swords have the option to return and compete in the fall of 2021.
Hallman and Mariucci will be representing Chaminade as individuals this season for the ladies.
For the men, joining Bernardo-Flores and Larsen in competition this semester are freshmen
Owen Daugherty (Cedar Park, Texas/Cedar Park) and
Conor McMahon (Pacifica, Calif./Archbishop Riordan). Like the women's team, the men's squad will not post team scores but will participate as individuals.
Following Saturday's HPU Invitational, the team will be on the Big Island for the Hawai'i Hilo Invitational on Friday, Feb. 12. The final meet of the season will be the HPU PacWest Hawai'i Invitational at HPU Hawai'i Loa. HPU will serve as the meet host.
