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The Butler women won the 2019 Cross Country Championship.
The Butler women won the 2019 Cross Country Championship.

Cross Country

Villanova Men, Butler Women Set To Defend Cross Country Crowns

NEW YORK – After fall sports were pushed to the spring because of the pandemic, the BIG EAST Conference resumes its championship schedule with the BIG EAST Cross Country Championships Presented by Jeep on March 5 at WakeMed Soccer Park Field in Cary, N.C.
 
The women’s race begins at 11 a.m. ET.  The men’s race will be held at 11:50 a.m.  The BIG EAST will be running at WakeMed for the first time.
 
In the last BIG EAST Cross Country Championship, the Villanova men and the Butler women were victorious at the Wayne Dannehl National Course in Kenosha, Wis.  Villanova placed four runners among the top eight finishers.  The Butler women had all five scoring among the top 17.
 
This year may be unpredictable since many teams have not been able to compete in formal competition because of poor weather and health concerns.
 
This year the BIG EAST is streaming to the conference YouTube page and to FloSports. 
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZ3ECO_Lk8I&feature=youtu.be
Flo - http://flosports.link/3ra0gxL
Link to the live results for the Cross Country Championships.  
https://www.flashresults.com/2021_Meets/xc/BigEast/
In 2019, the Villanova men ended a four-year title run by Georgetown.  The Wildcats edged the Hoyas 36-42.  The Butler women’s title, the Bulldogs’ first BIG EAST crown, prevented a Villanova three-peat.    
 
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 11 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
 
Georgetown, ranked 20th nationally in the latest USTFCCCA poll, competed once in the spring season, at the Spider-Patriot Classic in Richmond, Va, and won the event, edging Connecticut on a tiebreaker.  Junior Sami Corman took first place.  She finished 13th at the 2019 BIG EAST Championship.  Sophomore Maggie Donahue, who was 33rd in the BIG EAST, placed third at Richmond.  Senior Baylee Jones took 15th in the BIG EAST race.
 
Providence is ranked 23rd nationally and first in the Northeast Region going into this week’s Championship.  Senior Maria Coffin returns after taking fourth place in the last BIG EAST Championship in 2019.  Sophomore Lilly Tuck finished 11th.
 
Villanova is in the receiving votes category in the national poll.  At the last BIG EAST Championship, coach Gina Procaccio led a very young squad to runner-up finishes at the BIG EAST and the NCAA Mid-Athletic Regional, the latter of which gave the Villanova an automatic qualification to the NCAAs with a lineup that featured four freshmen in the top six positions.  Junior Lydia Olivere won individual titles at both the BIG EAST and NCAA Regional meets.  She earned all-America honors at the NCAA Championships.  The talented cast of then-freshmen was the quartet of Maggie Smith, Nikki Merrill, Brynne Summer and Anna Helwigh.
 
Butler is also receiving votes in the USTFCCCA poll.  The returning champion Bulldogs can look to seniors Emily Royston and Angelina Ellis, who finished fifth and sixth, respectively at the BIG EAST race.  Royston was sensational in 2019, her first at Butler, qualifying for the 2019 NCAA Cross Country Championships. She placed 17th at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional.  Ellis is coming off a breakout junior season when she had a sixth-place finish at the BIG EAST.
 
Connecticut is back in the BIG EAST for first time since 2012-13.  Senior Mia Hahom finished eighth at the Spider-Patriot Classic in February where the Huskies tied Georgetown for first place.  Nahom was an NCAA Championship qualifier last season.  Classmate Daniell Jordan and junior Randi Burr give the Huskies a strong and experienced top three.  Burr took fourth at the Spider-Patriot Classic.
 
Xavier has finished fifth in each of the past three years. The Musketeers return three of their top-five finishers: Courtney Klatt (25th), Madeline Dingle (27th) and Jennifer Prial (35th). Klatt recently won the 3,000-meter run at the Al Campbell Invitational (indoor track and field) on Feb. 19, posting a time of 10:01.03.  Xavier will certainly miss the graduated Anna Kostarellis who finished second in the BIG EAST.
Marquette has taken sixth place in each of the past two years.  The Golden Eagles are led by sophomore Kate Jochims, who competed in six meets as a freshman.  She placed second in the 5K Phoenix Open and was 32nd at the BIG EAST.
 
Creighton moved up one spot to seventh in the last BIG EAST meet.  This year, junior Danielle Hotalling continues to be the Bluejay leader.  She had been the top finisher for Creighton in every race she has run in.  She finished 18th at the last BIG EAST Championship after finishing 25th as a freshman.
 
DePaul was eighth at the 2019 BIG EAST run. This season, sophomore Olivio Borowiak won the Eastern Illinois Spring Open with a personal best time of 18:16 in 5K.  Senior Margaret Hastings finished 10th.
 
St. John’s took ninth place in 2019.  The Red Storm return their second and third runners, Katherine Bruno and Claire Cushing.  Both were newcomers last year.  Bruno was a junior college transfer and Cushing was a freshman.  Sophomores Grace Adolphe and Tiffany-Ann Matturro also have conference championship experience. 
 
Seton Hall was 10th in 2019.  Sophomore Arianna Braccio finished six of the eight meets that fall as one of the top two Pirates, including a first-place finish at the NYIT Invitational.
     
Men’s Preview
Butler is the highest ranked league men’s team in the national polls at No. 24.  Two years ago, the Bulldogs had the individual winner, senior Euan Makepeace.   Graduate student Simon Bedard had a strong  2019 season, finishing 112th at the 2019 NCAA Championships and 22nd at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional.  He also finished seventh at the BIG EAST Championships.  Senior Barry Keane, a redshirt in 2019, in finished 42nd in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional in 2018 and was sixth at the BIG EAST Championship.  Senior Clark Otte took ninth at the BIG EAST.  He also qualified for the Great Lakes Regional.
 
Georgetown, a close to second to Villanova in 2019, can look to junior Price Owens, who was fifth in 2019.  Sophomore Shea Weilbaker was 10th as a freshman.  Jack Salisbury finished 11th two years ago, but missed 2019 with mono.
 
Villanova is ranked 27th in the USTFCCCA poll.  The 2019 BIG EAST title was the Wildcats’ first since 2014 and its seventh overall.  Four runners finished in the top eight.  The trio of Haftu Strintzos, Josh Phillips and Charlie O’Donovan were strong contributors in 2019 and have to replace stalwarts Casey Comber and Andrew Marstron, but the Wildcat depth should strong. Comber and Marston both had a pair of top-five finishes at the BIG EAST Championship in their careers. 
 
Marquette has finished fourth in the last two Championships.  The Golden Eagles’ leader is junior Jordan Janusiak.  He competed in five meets as a sophomore and had a sixth-pace finish at the Phoenix Open.  He was 27th at the BIG EAST meet in 2019.
 
Providence took fifth place in 2019.  The top returnees for this week are seniors Marcelo Rocha and Ryan Gallagher.
 
Connecticut will be led by senior captain Eric Van Der Els.  He finished eighth at last season’s AAC Championship.  Van Der Els is joined by standouts Will Brisman and James Maniscalco, who are both juniors.  The trio earned All-Region honors at the NCAA Northeast Regional, the third time in school history that three runners accomplished the feat in the same race.  In two races this season, the trio has been the top three UConn finishers.
 
Xavier The Musketeers return three of their top-five finishers from a team that placed seventh at the 2019 BIG EAST Championships: Lucas Houk (42nd), Brady Harless (46th) and Andrew Dietrich (47th)
DePaul finished eighth in 2019.  In their lone competition this season, Blue Demon senior Charlie McIntyre was the top performer for the Blue Demons with a third-place finish in the 8K event at the Eastern Illinois Spring Open. Junior Shane Knanishu took 11th.
 
Creighton has finished eighth in each of the past two years.  Last year, six of the seven Bluejay finishers were freshmen and sophomores.  The top performer is Chase Howard, who redshirted last season.  The top finisher in 2019 was Michael Buckley, who placed 40th. 
 
Seton Hall will be aiming to improve on its ninth-place finish.  Junior Cale Kretlow is the top Pirate.  He was first or second on the squad in 2019 in six of the team’s eight meets.