Villanova's Comber, Hutchinson Earn Weekly Cross Country Honors
NEW YORK – Villanova’s Casey Comber and Nicole Hutchinson have been named the BIG EAST Male and Female Athletes of the Week in Cross Country. They both had outstanding performances at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational.
BIG EAST Male Athlete of the Week
Casey Comber, Villanova, Jr. – Comber takes Male Athlete of the Week honors for a second time this fall after turning in the league’s top individual performance at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational. The junior covered the 8K course in a time of 23:51.8 and finished 35th. It was Comber’s fifth time in the last eight meets that he has been the Wildcats’ top performer.
BIG EAST Female Athlete of the Week
Nicole Hutchinson, Villanova, Sr. – Hutchinson was the top BIG EAST women’s finisher at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational. She finished 11th among 227 competitors in a time of 19:58.9 over the 6K course and helped the Wildcats to a fourth-place finish in a field that included seven top-10 squads. The teams that finished ahead of Villanova were all ranked in the top five.
BIG EAST Notes
Men’s News –
Georgetown had three runners finish between 55th and 63rd in the Nuttycombe race. Junior Jack Van Scoter took 55th with a time of 24:03.7. Senior Christian Liddell was 59th at 24:05.1 and sophomore Nicholas Wareham was 65th at 24:08.9. In addition to Comber for
Villanova, the Wildcats’ Andrew Marston was 53
rd with a time of 24:03.1.
Butler junior Euan Makepeace was 64th with a time of 24:09.4. The top performer for
Providence was senior Austin Scola who recorded a time of 24:55.4. Scola finished 159th, improving from 225th in last year’s race…
Xavier was led by Thomas Gardiner at the Louisville Classic. The freshman finished 39th with a time of 24:48.30 in the 8K race, the sixth fastest time in program history…The Musketeers were 21st in a 29-team field…At the Roy Griak Invitational,
Creighton’s Chase Howard placed 85th with a time of 26:32.1 in the 8K run. The Bluejays finished 13th of 15 teams.
Women’s News – Four BIG EAST women’s teams competed at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational this past Friday. In addition to Nicole Hutchinson’s performance,
Villanova had Caroline Alcorta finish one spot behind Hutchinson, taking 12th place at 20:00.0. Rachel McArthur was the next Wildcat, finishing 29th in 20:22.0…Paige Hofstad was the top performer for
Georgetown at the meet. The sophomore finished 32nd with a time of 20:23.0. The Hoyas finished 25th as a team…Abbey Wheeler was the top finisher for
Providence with a time of 20:30.8 that placed her 37th. The Friars finished 20th in the team standings…Junior Jessica Thestrup continued to be the top performer for
Butler this fall. She was 82nd with a time of 21:04.7. The Bulldogs finished 26th…
Xavier was led by sophomore Anna Kostarellis in the Paul Short Run hosted by Lehigh. She finished 22nd in the 6K race that had 353 competitors. Her time of 21:14 was the eighth fastest time in school history. The Musketeers finished 12th in the 41-team field…
Creighton freshman Danielle Hotaling continued her impressive fall season with a 39th-place finish at the Roy Griak Invitational with a time of 22:27.0 in the 6K race. The Bluejays took 12th place among 14 teams.
BIG EAST Presence In the USTFCCCA Polls
In the USTFCCCA national polls of Oct. 2, the women’s poll has Villanova at No. 6 with Georgetown receiving votes. In the men’s poll, Georgetown is No. 29 and Villanova receiving votes.