KENOSHA, Wis. - The Syracuse men and Villanova women won the BIG EAST Cross Country Championships at the Wayne E. Dannehl National Cross Country Course on Oct. 31. Senior Cory Thorne of Louisville took the individual men's title in the 8,000-meter race with a time of 24:43.9. Sophomore Wildcat Sheila Reid recorded a time of 20:45.1 and won the women's title.

Syracuse won its first ever BIG EAST Championship as the squads' top five runners were all among the first 15 athletes to cross the finish line. The Orange's total of 55 points narrowly beat defending conference champion Georgetown (61 points). Villanova came in third overall with 76 points.

Thorne, who missed all of 2008 due to injury, made a triumphant return to the league championship, claiming Louisville's first ever BIG EAST individual title. The senior crossed the finish line 2.4 seconds ahead of Villanova freshman Mathew Mildenhall (24:46.3). Defending league champion Andrew Bumbalough came in third overall with a time of 24:46.5.

Villanova won its second-straight BIG EAST Championship and 12th all-time. The Wildcats placed their first five runners in the top 12 for a score of 30. Second place overall went to West Virginia which tallied 74 points. Syracuse finished third with 84 points.

Reid, who also missed 2008 due to injury, was the first Villanova runner to cross the finish line, coming in just ahead of second-place finisher and junior teammate Amanda Marino (20:51.6). Georgetown sophomore Emily Infeld finished in third place with a time of 21.03.8.