ASHLAND, Neb. -- The No. 10 Georgetown women and the No. 14 Butler men won the team titles at the BIG EAST Cross Country Championships presented by JEEP held at Mahoney State Park in Ashland, Neb.  

Georgetown became only the second program in BIG EAST history to capture six consecutive conference women's cross country crowns. For the Butler men, it claimed its fourth title in the last six years. The Hoyas' Melissa Riggins and the Bulldogs' William Zegarski and captured the women's and men's individual races.  

In the women's championship, Georgetown's Riggins crossed the finish line in a time of 19:47.7 for the 6K distance.  It marked the sixth time a Georgetown runner won the BIG EAST women's individual cross country title.  She outlasted Villanova's Tilly O'Connor by five seconds.   

A pair of Hoyas - Barrett Justema (19:57.2) and Almi Nerurkar (20:00.5) - finished third and fourth, respectively.  Villanova's Margaret Carroll rounded out the top five in a time of 20:01.2

The Georgetown women placed all five scorers among the top 10 of the race, finishing with 24 points.  The Hoyas' Charlotte Tomkinson placed seventh (20:03.9) and Charlotte Bell (20:18.77) was ninth, rounding out the Georgetown scorers.  Georgetown now joins Villanova as the only programs to win six straight BIG EAST Cross Country Championships.  From 1989-94, the Wildcats also won six straight league championships.  
 
No. 14 Villanova placed four in the top 10 - including Nicole Vanasse in eighth (20:05.38) and Amelia Arrieta in 10th (20:21.11) - finishing as runners- up with 42 points as a team.  Providence was third, with five among the top 20 of the race, totaling 61 points.  UConn (104) and Xavier (154) capped off the top five on the team standings.

In the men's race, Zegarski won his first BIG EAST Cross Country title, covering the 8K course in a time of 23:08.5.  It marked the fourth time a Butler runner has captured the conference individual title. Teammate Matthew Forrester finished second, close behind in a time of 23:11.6.  

Georgetown's Birhanu Harriman finished third overall, in a time of 23:15.62, followed by Bailey Habler of Villanova in fourth place (23:16.00).  Butler's Jesse Hamlin crossed the line in fifth place (23:16.24).

As a team, Butler finished with 26 points, placing three runners in the top five and all five scoring finishers among the top 12.  The Bulldogs' Austin Gabay was sixth (23:16.92) and Brendan Thomas placed 12th (23:45.82) to round out the scorers.  Eli Fullerton (15th, 23:53.20) and Matteo Rosio (16th, 23:56.72) rounded out the top seven for Butler.  

No. 30 Georgetown finished second overall, with a team score of 42.  The Hoyas placed four in the top 10 and had all five scorers among the top 15.  MacCallum Rowe (23:18.47) and Luke Johnson (23:34.22) finished seventh and eighth, respectively, while Quinn Parrish (23:40.81) was 10th for Georgetown.  Villanova (62) was third and was led by Charlie Moore's ninth place finish in a time of 23:36.46.  Providence (110) was fourth and DePaul (163) fifth on the team leaderboard.
 
Georgetown's Mitchell Baker and his staff were named BIG EAST Women's Coaching Staff of the Year, while Butler's Matt Roe and his staff earned BIG EAST Men's Coaching Staff of the Year honors.  The top 10 female and male individual finishers are named to the All-Conference First Team and the next 10 finishers are named to the All-Conference Second Team.

Women’s Top Finishers:

1. Melissa Riggins, Georgetown - 19:47.64
2. Tilly O'Connor, Villanova - 19:52.70
3. Barrett Justema, Georgetown - 19:57.20
4. Almi Nerurkar, Georgetown - 20:00.44
5. Margaret Carroll, Villanova - 20:01.20
6. Anna Gardiner, Providence - 20:03.14
7. Charlotte Tomkinson, Georgetown - 20:03.83
8. Nicole Vanasse, Villanova - 20:05.38
9. Charlotte Bell, Georgetown - 20:18.77
10. Amelia Arrieta, Villanova - 20:21.11
11. Gabby Schmidt, Providence - 20:22.65
12. Kate Currie, Providence - 20:23.91
13. Sascha Letica, UConn - 20:25.87
14. Cara Laverty, Providence - 20:27.52
15. Myla Toole, Xavier - 20:31.78
16. Chloe Trudel, UConn - 20:39.45
17. Rosemary Shay, Villanova - 20:42.09
18. Emily Bush, Providence - 20:45.84
19. Brooke Strauss, UConn - 20:58.19
20. Caroline Cummings, Georgetown - 21:04.12

Women’s Team Scores:

1. Georgetown - 24
2. Villanova - 42
3. Providence - 61
4. UConn - 104
5. Xavier - 154
6. Butler - 207
7. Creighton - 209
8. DePaul - 215
9. Seton Hall - 267
10. Marquette - 270
11. St. John's - 340

Men’s Top Finishers:

1. William Zegarski, Butler - 23:08.41
2. Matthew Forrester, Butler - 23:11.57
3. Birhanu Harriman, Georgetown - 23:15.62
4. Bailey Habler, Villanova - 23:16.00
5. Jesse Hamlin, Butler - 23:16.24
6. Austin Gabay, Butler - 23:16.92
7. MacCallum Rowe, Georgetown - 23:18.47
8. Luke Johnson, Georgetown - 23:34.22
9. Charlie Moore, Villanova - 23:36.46
10. Quinn Parrish, Georgetown - 23:40.81
11. Mohamed Abdullahi, DePaul - 23:44.42
12. Brendan Thomas, Butler - 23:45.82
13. CJ Sullivan, Villanova - 23:50.06
14. Alazar Teffra, Georgetown - 23:51.99
15. Eli Fullerton, Butler - 23:53.20
16. Matteo Rosio, Butler - 23:56.72
17. Jack Coomber, Villanova - 23:58.57
18. Daniel Prescott, Providence - 24:02.30
19. Ben Thomas, Villanova - 24:04.83
20. Elliott Pugh, Providence - 24:04.87

Men’s Team Scores:

1. Butler - 26
2. Georgetown - 42
3. Villanova - 62
4. Providence - 110
5. DePaul - 163
6. Creighton - 191
7. Xavier - 209
8. Marquette - 218
9. Seton Hall - 226