Providence Sweeps First Cross Country Weekly Awards
NEW YORK – Providence graduate student Michael Wyman and junior Abbey Wheeler are the first BIG EAST Male and Female Athletes of the Week in Cross Country for the 2018 season. They both won participating in the UNH Dual Meet for men and women.
BIG EAST Male Athlete of the Week
Michael Wyman, Providence, Gr. – Wyman led the Friars to victory in the UNH Dual Meet with a time of 15:05.63 in the 5K race. He ran a strong final 800 meters and passed three teammates en route to the win. The Friars competed against Holy Cross and New Hampshire.
BIG EAST Female Athlete of the Week
Abbey Wheeler, Providence, Jr. – Wheeler covered the 5K distance at the UNH Dual Meet in 17:21.37. She finished first with teammate Maria Coffin by her side in second place with a time of 17:21:45. The next closest finisher in the race was 26 seconds behind. The Friars were competing against Dartmouth, Holy Cross and host New Hampshire. Wheeler finished 10th in last year’s BIG EAST Championship.
BIG EAST Notes
Men’s News – Butler’s men squad swept the top three spots at the Butler Twilight. Daniel Garcia, Bobby Johnson and Barry Keane crossed the line together. Garcia’s time of 18:55.3 officially won the 6K race with both teammates one-tenth of a second behind. Garcia is a graduate student in his first season at Butler…Xavier’s Grayson Jenkins placed 10th in a field of 178 competitors at the Queen City Invitational, hosted by Northern Kentucky. Jenkins’ time was 15:39.60 in the 5K race. He helped the Musketeers finish third in a field of 10 teams. Xavier finished ahead of Ohio State for the first time in program history and ahead of Cincinnati for the first time since 2012…Creighton’s Chase Howard finished 23rd out of 266 runners at the Augustana Twilight, posting a time of 22:32.36 in the 7K race. It was the first time that Howard was Creighton’s top performer since the 2017 BIG EAST Championship. The Bluejays placed seventh in the 23-team field.
Women’s News – At the Butler Twilight, the Bulldogs took five of the top nine spots in the 5K run to win the team crown. Sophomore Camille Hines was Butler’s top finisher, taking third place with a time of 18:18.3…Xavier’s Anna Kostarellis placed third out of 149 runners at the Queen City Invitational. The sophomore ran the 5K race in 17:47.80, ranking as the eighth top time in school history and tying her mark from last season at the Louisville Classic. The top three finishers were separated by only 2.8 seconds. The Musketeers finished third as a team ahead of rivals Dayton, Cincinnati and Kentucky…Creighton’s Danielle Hotaling made her collegiate debut with an 11th-place showing at the Augustana Twilight. Among 277 runners, she ran the 5K race in a time of 18:09.36 and became the first Bluejay to be the team’s top finisher in her debut since Lauren Ogg in 2015. The Bluejays finished in seventh place among 25 teams.
BIG EAST Presence In the USTFCCCA Polls
In the preseason USTFCCCA women’s poll, three BIG EAST teams are ranked. Villanova is eighth followed by No. 11 Providence and No. 25 Georgetown. In the men’s poll, Villanova is 28th and Georgetown tied for 30th.