NEW YORK – Providence's Anna Gardiner and Butler's William Zegarski were named BIG EAST Athletes of the Week for cross country, ranking as the top finishers from the conference at the Wisconsin Nuttycombe Invitational. Gardiner led Providence in the six-kilometer race, finishing 30th overall in a time of 19:59.6.  Zegarski crossed the finish line in 19th place, clocking a time of 23:02.5 for the eight-kilometer course.

BIG EAST Female Athlete of the Week
Anna Gardiner, Providence, Jr.
Gardiner placed 30th overall at the Wisconsin Nuttycombe Invitational in Madison, Wis., registering a time of 19:59.6 for the six-kilometer race.  She was the top BIG EAST finisher in the race and helped lead the Friars to a 17th place finish among an elite field of teams.  It was the fastest 6K cross country performance of her career.

BIG EAST Male Athlete of the Week
William Zegarski, Butler, Gr.
Zegarski shined at the Wisconsin Nuttycombe Invitational, finishing 19th overall in a time of 23:02.5 in the eight-kilometer event.  The grad student paced the Bulldogs to an 18th place finish in a field with 21 nationally ranked teams. Zegarski improved on his time at the same meet by more than 30 seconds, year over year.

Women's Notes – At the Metropolitan Championship, Naiara Garcia-Moreno of St. John's won the individual title in a personal-best time for 17:44.60 for 5K - the lone runner in the field under the 18-minute mark...the Red Storm placed third overall at Mets...Providence and Georgetown raced at the Nuttycombe, finishing 17th and 31st, respectively...the Friars saw a 1:13.9 spread among its top five finishers with an average time of 20:39.9 for the 6K course...for the Hoyas, Barrett Justema was the top finisher, clocking 20:02.5 for the 6K race...the Friars also raced at the New England Championship, taking second place overall...freshman Lorraine O'Connor was Providence's top runner in fourth place, crossing the finish line in 17:41.4 for the 5K competition.

Men's Notes – Georgetown, Butler, and Providence all competed at the Nuttycombe Invitational...the Hoyas were the top BIG EAST team, placing seventh overall with a 48 second spread among its five scorers...junior Joseph O'Brien led Georgetown with his 24th place finish overall, clocking 23:09.9...Butler placed 18th as a team, while Providence was 29th, led by Cormac Dixon's 58th place finish (23:34.8)...the Friars also competed at the New England Championship in Hopkinton, N.H. taking the team title for the 27th time in program history..Sam Hodgson was the top Providence runner, finishing third in 24:40.9 for 8K.

In The Polls – The USTFCCCA national poll #4 was released on Tuesday, Oct. 13.  On the women's poll, Providence ranks No. 28.  For the men, Georgetown and Villanova made big jumps, with the Hoyas sitting at No. 11 and the Wildcats at No. 14.  Butler is ranked No. 25.

On the week #4 regional polls, released on Oct. 12, several BIG EAST teams are featured:

Women
Great Lakes: 13. Butler
Mid-Atlantic: 4. Villanova; 8. Georgetown
Northeast: 1. Providence; 5. UConn

Men
Great Lakes: 4. Butler
Mid-Atlantic: 1. Villanova; 2. Georgetown
Northeast: 5. Providence