PROVIDENCE, R.I. – It was a light week on the BIG EAST cross country scene, with just six teams in action last week. This weekend will be much busier, as 15 of the 16 schools compete in various meets, including six teams heading to Terre Haute, Ind. for Pre-Nationals. Five other teams will compete at the Penn State National in State College, Pa. This is the final week of Athlete of the Week awards, with the BIG EAST Championship just around the corner. The BIG EAST Cross Country Championship will be held Oct. 30 at Jamesville County Beach Park in Jamesville, N.Y., hosted by Syracuse.
Where they will be this weekend…
Men:
Bradley Classic (Oct. 15, Peoria, Ill.): DePaul
Pre-Nationals (Oct. 16, Terre Haute, Ind.): Cincinnati, Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame, Providence
Penn State National (Oct. 16, State College, Pa.): Pittsburgh, USF, Syracuse, Villanova
Connecticut College Invitational (Oct. 16, Waterford, Conn.): Connecticut
Leopard Invitational (Oct. 16, Easton, Pa.): Seton Hall
Idle: Rutgers
Women:
Rothenberg Race (Oct. 15, Warwick, R.I.): Connecticut
Bradley Classic (Oct. 15, Peoria, Ill.): DePaul
Pre-Nationals (Oct. 16, Terre Haute, Ind.): Cincinnati, Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame, Providence
Penn State National (Oct. 16, State College, Pa.): Pittsburgh, USF, Syracuse, Villanova, West Virginia
Leopard Invitational (Oct. 16, Easton, Pa.): Seton Hall
STJ Fall Festival (Oct. 17, Queens, N.Y.): St. John’s
Idle: Rutgers
Cincinnati: Cincinnati was idle last week. Both the Bearcats men’s and women’s teams claimed fifth at the All-Ohio Championships on Oct. 1 in Cedarville, Ohio. Junior Eric Finan covered the 8k course in 24:20.6 to lead the Cincinnati men, while sophomore Oliver Book placed 11th. On the women’s side, senior Michele McKenney cracked the top 10, placing ninth with a time of 17:53.0.
The Bearcats are in action on Oct. 16 at the Pre-Nationals in Terre Haute, Ind.
Connecticut: The Connecticut women placed second of 40 teams at the New England Championship on Oct. 9, the best finish in program history at the meet. Freshman Allison Lasnicki was the top finisher for the Huskies, taking 14th individually. The team had six runners place higher than the top finisher in 2009. The team’s previous best finish at the New England Championship was fourth in 2003.
On the men’s side, the Huskies finished 10th at the New England Championship, led by sophomore Nick Aguila who finished 25th overall (25:19). Connecticut had three runners finish in the top-50 out of over 300 total runners. The squad finished in 10th place, marking the seventh time that the Huskies have finished in the top-10 at the New England Championship.
The Connecticut men are at the Connecticut College Invitational in Waterford, Conn., on Oct. 16. The women are at the Rothenberg Race in Warwick, R.I., on Oct. 15.
DePaul: Both DePaul’s men’s and women’s teams were idle last week. The teams competed at the Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational in Chicago, Ill., on Oct. 2. The men placed ninth at the meet while the women took 13th. Junior Matthew Graham led the charge for the men, earning BIG EAST male cross country Athlete of the Week honors for his tremendous effort. Graham placed first individually for the third time this season, navigating the 8k course in 24:32, outpacing his closest competition by 21 seconds. Junior Kelly Pickering was the top finisher for the women, taking 30th with a time of 18:38 in the 5k race.
The Blue Demons compete in the Bradley Classic in Peoria, Ill., on Oct. 15.
Georgetown: The Hoyas were idle last week. The Georgetown women remain No. 5 in the country after winning the Paul Short Run on Oct. 1. The Hoyas cruised to the first-place finish, scoring a total of 34 points with seven runners finishing in the top 20. Junior Emily Infeld earned BIG EAST female cross country Athlete of the Week honors, grabbing the individual title at the meet with a time of 20:04 in the 6k race.
The men also had a great performance at the Paul Short Run, taking second and moving up to No. 22 in the country. The Hoyas had 149 total points, with senior Ayalew Taye leading the way in fourth place. Taye finished the 8k course with a time of 23:54. The squad finished behind then-No. 22 Virginia.
Both teams compete at the Pre-Nationals in Terre Haute, Ind. on Oct. 16.
Louisville: The Cardinals were idle last week. The Louisville men’s cross country team captured its second-straight Greater Louisville Classic team title on Oct. 2. Behind top-10 finishes from senior Michael Eaton (seventh) and junior Matt Hughes (10th), the Cardinals finished the race with 97 team points – more than 50 points ahead of the second place team – and good enough for first out of 38 teams. Eaton’s time of 23:35.66 becomes the 10th fastest time on the men's side at the course. Freshman Tyler Byrne also had an impressive showing, taking 21st with a time of 24:15.69, the second-fastest time of any true Cardinal freshman at E.P. Sawyer State Park.
On the women’s side, senior Kim Grieshaber led the team for the third-straight race. She navigated the 5K course in 17:17.54, taking fourth place. Senior Emily Borsare and grad student Monica Hernandez rounded out the Cardinals’ top-three finishers, respectively. Borsare took 24th, while Hernandez placed 57th. Collectively, the Cardinal women took 13th out of a 35-team field.
Both teams compete at Pre-Nationals in Terre Haute, Ind., on Oct. 16.
Marquette: Both Marquette teams were idle last week. The Golden Eagle women split the squad and ran in two separate races Oct. 1 and 2. Half of the squad grabbed first at the Carthage Invitational in Kenosha, Wis., on Oct. 1. The other half took 17th at the Wisconsin adidas Invitational in Madison, Wis., on Oct. 2. Freshman Holly Robertson led the squad at the Carthage Invitational with a first-place finish. Senior Olivia Johnson was the top finisher at the Wisconsin adidas Invitational, crossing the line with a time of 21:39 in 70th place.
The men were led at the Wisconsin adidas Invitational by senior Brice Cleland’s 64th-place finish, finishing the 8k course in 21:39.
The Golden Eagles are at the Pre-Nationals on Oct. 16 in Terre Haute, Ind.
Notre Dame: Both Notre Dame men’s and women’s cross country teams were idle last week. The school hosted the Notre Dame Invitational on Oct. 1 as one of the premier meets of the cross country season. It was the 55th running of the event and included 48 schools competing in at least one of the five total races. Fourteen teams ranked in the USTFCCCA top 30 competed at the meet.
The men’s team defeated several top-30 ranked teams to finish seventh, bumping the Irish into last week’s USTFCCCA poll at No. 28. Senior Dan Jackson was the top finisher for the men, taking 15th with a time of 24:13.
The women finished 18th of the 24 teams competing. Freshman Meg Ryan led the Irish for the second straight week, crossing the finish line in 17:37.
Both teams compete at the Pre-Nationals in Terre Haute, Ind., on Oct. 16.
Pittsburgh: The Pittsburgh women’s cross country team finished 20th at the Carnegie Mellon Invitational on Oct. 9. Freshman Kelsey Coates set the pace for the Panthers, finishing the 5k race with a time of 22:36.93. Sophomore Amanda Kuhl followed Coates with a time of 23:37.41.
The men were idle last week. Both teams compete at the Penn State Nationals on Oct. 16.
Providence: The Providence men grabbed sixth at the New England Championship on Oct. 9 with a score of 203. Junior Matt Terry was the first Friar to complete the 8k path, earning third place individually of 318 runners. Freshman Francis Hernandez also had a strong performance, clocking a time of 25:21 to finish 19th overall.
The Friar women were idle last week. Both teams compete at Pre-Nationals in Terre Haute, Ind., on Oct. 16.
Rutgers: The Rutgers men’s and women’s cross country teams both competed at the Metropolitan Championships on Oct. 8. The women finished second, totaling 46 points with three runners finishing in the top five. Junior Kelly Flannigan was the top finisher for the Scarlet Knights, claiming second individually with a time of 18:16. Freshman Brianna Deming finished second with a time of 18:30, and sophomore Jennifer Spitzer registered a time of 18:44 to take fifth.
The men placed fourth with a score of 110. Three Scarlet Knights placed in the top 25, led by senior Nick Miehe who claimed sixth, navigating the 8k course in 26:05. Senior Kevin Cronin notched a time of 26:39 to take 17th and freshman Chris Banafato finished 25th with a time of 27:05.
Rutgers has finished regular season competition and next competes at the BIG EAST Championship on Oct. 30.
St. John’s:St. John's competed in the Metropolitan Championships last week, finishing eighth with an average time of 20:20. Junior Samantha Meyerhoff led the team for the fourth straight meet with a finish time of 19:13.
The Red Storm will host the annual Fall Festival this weekend at Cunningham Park in Queens, N.Y. A mile-long fun run will raise money for breast cancer research before the men's and women's races begin at 10 a.m.
Seton Hall:The Seton Hall men’s team finished 11th at the Metropolitan Championships on Oct. 8. The squad totaled 291 points, with freshman Carl Johnston coming in as the team’s top finisher with a time of 27:20 in 30th place. Sophomore Jared Hanko also placed in the top 50, taking 47th with a time of 28:11.
The women’s team was 13th at the Metropolitan Championships, totaling 348 points. The Pirates had an average time of 21:31 for the 5k race, with sophomore Hughnique Rolle once again leading the squad with a time of 20:45 in 48th place.
The Pirates will travel to Easton, Pa. on October 16 for the Leopard Invitational, hosted by Lafayette, in their final tune-up before the BIG EAST Championships.
USF: USF’s men’s and women’s teams competed at the FSU Invitational on Oct. 8. The women placed fourth while the men finished seventh. On the women’s side, junior Nicole Rozario lead the Bulls with a fifth-place finish in 17:53.22. Junior Yasmin Smith finished just over a second behind Rozario in sixth with a time of 17:54.26.
For the men, senior Pedro Carela led the way for the second straight week, finishing 20th with a time of 25:52.11. Junior Phillip Wise was next in 21st place, registering a time of 25:53.70.
Both teams compete at the Penn State National on Oct. 16.
Syracuse: Both the Syracuse men’s and women’s cross country teams were idle last week. The men enter competition this week ranked first in the Northeast Region and 14th nationally, while the women are also 14th in the Northeast Region and seventh nationally.
The teams will both compete in the Penn State National on October 16. Last year, the men took first place while the women finished second. The Orange have not competed at Penn State’s Blue and White Cross Country Course since the Harry Groves Spike Shoe Invitational during the 2008 season.
Villanova: Both Villanova’s men’s and women’s teams were idle last week. The Villanova women had a dominant performance at the Notre Dame Invitational on Oct. 1, where it finished first out of 24 teams with 64 points to easily outdistance runner-up Oregon (118) and the rest of the field. In a meet that featured four of the top five teams in last week’s USTFCCCA national poll and 12 nationally-ranked squads overall, the impressive showing by the Wildcats secured the team’s unanimous hold on the No. 1 spot in the national rankings.
Senior Sheila Reid came in second overall out of 194 runners at the Notre Dame meet with a time of 16:26 on the 5K course. She was one of three team members to place in the top seven, with senior Amanda Marino (fifth place) and junior Bogdana Mimic (seventh place) coming in close behind. In all, the top five runners for the Wildcats all finished in the top 31 of the race. Senior Ali Smith finished 19th and freshman Emily Lipari was 31st, as she beat every other team’s fifth runner as well as the fourth runner from every squad except for Oregon.
In its first big meet of the season, the Villanova men competed at the Notre Dame Invitational on Oct. 1. The meet featured two of the top five teams in the country and seven nationally-ranked squads according to last week’s USTFCCCA national poll. Due to nagging injuries to some of their runners, the Wildcats were without three student-athletes who likely would have been among the team’s top seven.
Junior Matt Kane had his second straight impressive outing to begin the season and was the team’s top finisher last week. He posted a time of 24:32 on the 8K course at Notre Dame and finished 32nd individually in a field of 160 runners. Kane and senior Keith Capecci (50th place, 24:52) were the only Wildcat runners in the top 50 individual spots.
Both the men and women are at the Penn State National on Oct. 16.
West Virginia: The Mountaineers were idle last week. West Virginia competed in the gold race at the Notre Dame Invitational on Oct. 1. The squad came away with a second-place finish behind Oakland University. Sophomore Katie Gillespie took first place individually in just her second meet as a Mountaineer. She has finished first in both of her races at West Virginia.
Junior Ahna Lewis was slated to make her 2010 debut at the Notre Dame Invitational, but was forced to sit out due to heel problems. Head coach Sean Cleary announced last week that he will be redshirting three seniors this season, and is looking for leaders to emerge from the pack to help the Mountaineers qualify for regionals and the NCAA Championship. West Virginia is now ranked sixth in the NCAA Mid-Atlantic region.
The Mountaineers are at the Penn State National on Oct. 16.
