Marquette's Miller, Creighton's Martin Earn X-C Weekly Honors
NEW YORK – Marquette senior Alec Miller and Creighton junior Emily Martin are the first BIG EAST Male and Female Athletes of the Week in Cross Country for the 2017 season.
BIG EAST Male Athlete of the Week
Alec Miller, Marquette, Sr. – Miller took second place in a field of 72 competitors at the Flames/Flyers Challenge in Romeoville, Ill. His time over the 6K course was 18:41.96, a career best. Miller finished just three seconds behind the winner. His performance led Marquette to a first-place team finish.
BIG EAST Female Athlete of the Week
Emily Martin, Creighton, Jr. – Martin beat a field of 310 runners to win the Augustana Twilight in Sioux Falls, S.D., with a time of 17:21.68 over the 5K course. She helped the Bluejays to a second-place team finish and beat the meet’s runner-up by nearly 23 seconds. The individual win was the first by a Bluejay runner since Lauren Ogg won the Briar Cliff Invitational on October 10, 2015.
BIG EAST Notes
Men’s News – Providence’s Liam Harris finished first in a dual meet against New Hampshire. The sophomore covered the 5K run in a time of 15:22.31, four seconds faster than last year’s winner. The Friars won the meet…The Butler men won the Butler Twilight event that the Bulldogs hosted. Bobby Johnson was the individual winner with a time of 18:31.5 in the 6K race.
Women’s News – Xavier’s Madeline Britton set a school record at the Queen City Invitational with a time of 17:25.90 in the 5K race. The senior finished third in a field of 105 competitors. Britton helped the Musketeers finish second among six teams…Providence’s Brianna Ilarda placed first in the Friars’ dual meet with New Hampshire. The senior won the competition with a time of 16:49.54 over 5K, 32 seconds better than teammate Catarina Rocha, who was the runner-up…Butler sophomore Josephine Thestrup won the Butler Twilight with a time of 17:35.5 and helped the Bulldogs to a first-place team finish. She won the race for the second year in a row…Marquette’s Jessica Parker finished in third place among 102 runners at the Flames/Flyers Challenge. She ran the 4K course in 14:15.79, within 14 seconds of first place.
BIG EAST Presence In the USTFCCCA Polls
In the preseason USTFCCCA women’s poll, three BIG EAST teams were ranked. Providence was No. 7 followed by Villanova at No. 20 and Georgetown at No. 26. In the men’s poll, Georgetown was No. 16.