NEW YORK – Xavier’s Rachel Butler and Butler’s Clark Otte have been named the first BIG EAST Female and Male Athletes of the Week, respectively, in the 2021 fall season.  Both runners turned in top performances at the Butler Twilight meet, which was held at the Northview Church Course in Carmel, Ind.

The Northview Church Course will be the site of the BIG EAST Cross Country Championships on Oct. 29.

BIG EAST Female Athlete of the Week
Rachel Butler, Xavier, Sr.
Xavier’s Butler won her 5K race in a time of 17:19.80, the second fastest time in school history.  Her performance is amazing because it was the first cross country race of her life.  Until this year, she was a member of the Xavier women’s soccer team, but can no longer play soccer due to concussion issues. 

BIG EAST Male Athlete of the Week
Clark Otte, Butler, Sr.
Otte finished second in the men’s side of the Butler Twilight with a 6K time of 17:49.1.  Otte, who finished 19^th overall in the BIG EAST Championship last spring when the Bulldogs won the team title, also won the Butler Twilight in 2019, the last time it was held. 

BIG EAST Notes
Women’s News – Additionally at the Butler Twilight, Butler’s Corinna Pena took second behind Xavier’s Butler with a time of 17:23.9, helping the Bulldogs to the team victory.  Teammate Emily Royston finished fifth at 17:35.8 and Camille Hines was ninth at 17:59.6…Xavier took fourth place in the seven-team field that also included DePaul.  The Blue Demons were seventh with Alexa Havon as the top finisher (19:11.7)…Marquette took second place to No. 28 Ohio State at the Evansville Opener on the Angel Mounds Course.  Junior Kendall Pfrimmer was the top Golden Eagle finisher, taking fifth place in a time of 17:59.9 over the 5K course.  Senior Danielle Hotalling of Creighton placed 14^th at the Hawkeye Invitational with a 4K time of 14:26.6.  The senior has led the Bluejays in all 15 meets of her career.  Creighton finished eighth in the 11-team field.  Connecticut won the six-team Marist Invitational with eight Huskies finishing in the top 25, including four in the top 10.  The top performer was freshman Monica Strain who was second in the 5K race, recording a time of 18:26.7.

Men’s News – In the USTFCCCA preseason poll, Butler is the top BIG EAST team, ranking ninth.  In addition to Otte’s second-place finish at the Butler Twilight, Butler’s James Sweeney took third, 15.5 seconds behind Otte at 18:04.6.  John Quigley of Creighton finished sixth among 84 runners at the Hawkeye Invitational with a time of 18:48.6 on the 6K course.  The Bluejays placed third in the nine-team meet.