Georgetown Men Seek Fifth Straight Cross Country Title; Villanova Women Aim For Third Consecutive Crown
NEW YORK – Georgetown will be aiming for a record fifth straight men’s title and Villanova will be looking to make it three straight women’s crowns at the 2019 BIG EAST Cross Country Championships presented by Jeep on Saturday, November 2. The Wayne Dannehl National Cross Country Course in Kenosha, Wis., will host the Championships.
The men’s 8K race will begin at 11 a.m. CT and the women’s 6K run will start at 11:50 a.m. Marquette University will serve as the championship host. It will be the third time the BIG EAST has conducted its championship at the Dannehl National Course after meets in 2017 and 2013.
The 2019 Cross Country Championships will be streamed live by the BIG EAST Digital Network on the BIG EAST Conference YouTube channel, @BIGEAST Twitter feed and on Caffeine TV. Full coverage of both men’s and women’s races begins at 10:55 am CT. Matt Schumacker and Piper Shaw will call the races and conduct on-site interviews with coaches and student-athletes.
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1BRKjqAYWBjxw
YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EI8vFnm4Itk
Caffeine:
https://www.caffeine.tv/bedn2
Live results link:
www.wisconsinrunner.com/results/2019BigEast.php
Georgetown men used their superior depth to win last year’s event, placing four runners among the top eight finishers. Nick Wareham took second place with a time of 24:08.7 and Jack Van Scoter finished fourth at 24:22.6. The Hoya team finished with 32 points. Runner-up Villanova had 45 points. The Wildcats return Casey Comber, who was last year’s individual champion. He covered the 8K in 23:59.7, and Andrew Marston, who took third place. Butler was third in the team standings with 53 points. Euan Makepeace was the top Bulldog finisher, taking fifth place last year.
On the women’s side, Villanova cruised to a comfortable victory with six runners taking the top eight places. The top returnee for this weekend is Lydia Olivere, who placed seventh last year. Georgetown and Providence were second and third with 73 and 76 points, respectively. Providence’s Abbey Wheeler is the Championship’s top returnee after finishing fourth last year.
Historically, cross country is one of the BIG EAST’s most accomplished sports. Nationally, BIG EAST women’s teams have won four of the last 10 NCAA national championships. Providence won the NCAA women’s title in 2013. Villanova has won nine NCAA women’s titles, the last coming in 2010.
Women’s Preview
Villanova has been led by freshman Maggie Smith and sophomore Lydia Olivere. Smith has been the Wildcats’ top runner in the last two meets. Olivere won the season-opening Main Line Invitational. Villanova will be looking for support from some new faces. The team is coming off a 22nd-place finish at the prestigious Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational.
Georgetown, ranked 28th nationally, was the team runner-up last year. The Hoyas have been led this fall by Madeline Perez. The graduate student paced the Hoyas at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational, the team’s most recent meet. She won BIG EAST weekly honors after a second-place finish at the Penn State Spiked Shoe Invite. Junior Baylee Jones has been a consistent performer behind Perez.
Providence’s Abbey Wheeler has won two of her three races this fall – the UNH Tri-Meet and the Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown where she was a repeat champion. She placed 26th at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational. Maria Coffin was second to Wheeler in each race. Wheeler finished 10th on the Dannehl course at the 2017 Championship.
Butler, ranked No. 26 nationally, took fourth place last year. This fall, the Bulldogs placed eighth at the NCAA Pre-Nationals led by junior Emily Royston, who finished 18th. Josephine Threstup was the top Butler finisher at last year’s championship, taking ninth place.
Xavier has finished fifth in each of the past two years. This fall, junior Anna Kostarellis has been the team leader, earning BIG EAST weekly honors twice. The junior won the Louisville Classic, setting a school record in a 5K race with a time of 16:43.1. She finished 18th at last year’s BIG EAST Championship.
Marquette finished sixth year last year. Hopes for moving up probably rest on captain Caitlin McGauley who has paced the team in all five meets this fall. The senior has posted three top-15 finishes, five top-30 finishes and set a personal best in a 5K at the Louisville Classic.
DePaul moved up two slots to seventh last year. This fall, freshman Alexa Havon has been the top finisher in the team’s last two meets. In the most recent competition, the Bradley Pink Invite, five Blue Demon runners posted personal bests.
Creighton was eighth last year. Sophomore Danielle Hotalling has led the Bluejays in every race in her two seasons as a collegian. She started the fall with a win in a dual meet against Drake. Hotalling finished 25th at last year’s Championship.
Seton Hall was ninth last year. The Pirates are led by senior Kassi Yocco, who won the Henry Mercer Invite. Junior Olivia Hernandez has compiled four top-20 finishes.
St. John’s will look to improve on last year’s 10th-place finish. Senior Stephanie Gerland is coming off a fifth-place finish at the Metropolitan Championship, her best performance of the fall. Katie Bruno, a JUCO All-America transfer, has shown great promise.
Men’s Preview
Georgetown has been led by the trio of Nick Wareham, Jack Van Scoter and Spencer Brown. Wareham was the BIG EAST runner-up last year and finished seventh two years ago at the Dannehl course. Van Scoter was the top Hoya finisher at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational. Brown took second place at the Penn State Spiked Shoe Invite.
Villanova can depend on the duo of Casey Comber and Andrew Marston. Comber won last year’s race at the Northview Church Course in Carmel, Ind. Marston was third. Two years ago at the Dannehl Course, Marston finished second and Comber was third. In 2016 at Van Cortlandt Park, Marston was seventh and Comber was 10th.
Butler finished in third place last year, eight points behind Villanova. Senior Euan Makepeace returns as a formidable contender for the individual title. He finished fifth last year at the Northview Church course and was third in 2016 at Van Cortlandt Park.
Marquette tied Providence last year and had an edge in a tiebreaker to finish fourth. Senior Daniel Pederson placed ninth in last year’s Championship and took eighth at Dannehl two years ago. He’s the only Golden Eagle runner to post two top-10 BIG EAST finishes. This fall, Pederson won the Loyola Lakefront Invitational.
Providence has shown to be a strong and balanced squad. The team has won the UNH Tri-Meet, the New England Championships and the CCSU Mini Meet. Marcelo Rocha won the UNH Tri-Meet. The PC leaders in the other races were Michael O’Leary, David Rosas and Nick Braz.
Xavier took sixth place last year. This fall, the team has been hit by some injuries, though senior John Hautz and sophomore Thomas Gardiner have been solid contributors. Gardiner was the Musketeers’ top finisher at last year’s Championship, taking 24th.
DePaul finished seventh last year. The top two performers at the Bradley Pink Classic – the most recent event for the Blue Demons -- were senior Noah Deck and freshman Henry Harper. Deck was the best DePaul runner at last year’s Championship, finishing 35th.
Creighton, which finished eighth last year, has developed a young nucleus under second-year coach Chris Gannon. Chase Howard, who was 34th in last year’s Championship, is redshirting this year. The top active performer is John Quigley, a sophomore transfer from Army West Point. He took third place in a dual meet against Drake early in the season.
Seton Hall was ninth last year for a third straight year. The young Pirate squad will look to sophomore Cole Kretlow who is coming off a top-20 performance at the Metropolitan Championship at Van Cortlandt Park. He has finished third or better in five of his six races this season.