2026 BIG EAST Cross Country Results

MECHANICSVILLE, Va. -- The No. 30 Providence women and the No. 11 Georgetown men won the team titles at the 2026 BIG EAST Cross Country Championships presented by JEEP held at Pole Green Park.  

The Friars earned their first BIG EAST women's cross country crown since the 2016 season, totaling 36 points.  The Hoyas recorded 33 points, capturing the team's first conference championship since 2018.

Georgetown's Barrett Justema was the women's individual champion, crossing the finish line in a time of 19:31.5 for the six-kilometer course.  Bailey Habler from Villanova took the men's individual title, clocking 22:58.3 for the eight-kilometer race.

In the women's championship, the Hoyas' Justema was among the six-runner lead pack throughout the race before making a strong move after the 5K mark.  She extended her lead over the final kilometer, en route to a victory by nearly five seconds.  It marked the second consecutive year - and seventh time overall - that a Georgetown runner won the BIG EAST women's individual cross country title.  Providence's Gabby Schmidt was runner-up, crossing the finish line in a time of 19:36.2.  A pair of Villanova runners - Tilly O'Connor (19:37.0) and Rosemary Shay (19:38.7) - placed third and fourth, respectively.  The Friars' Anna Gardiner was fifth (19:55.1).

En route to the women's team title, the Friars featured two runners in the top five, four among the top 10, and all five scorers separated by a 1:04 spread among the top 13 of the race.  Megan Harris was seventh (20:15.3), Emily Bush placed ninth (20:18.9), and Kate Currie finished 13th (20:40.0) to round out the PC scorers.  It marks the ninth time that Providence has won the BIG EAST women's cross country championship - third-most all-time in the history of the conference behind Villanova (16) and Georgetown (11). 

Villanova finished as runner-up, with a total of 44 points.  The Wildcats placed three runners among the top 10 and all five scorers among the top 16. Maeve Smith (20:27.6) and Zoe Mosher (20:29.3) finished 10th and 11th, respectively, while Hannah Jicha was 16th (20:47.6) as the final scorer for Nova.

UConn placed third overall, compiling 59 points.  The Huskies had two top 10 finishers, led by Sascha Letica's sixth-place finish in a time of 19:59.0 and an eighth-place performance from Brooke Strauss (20:17.4).  Georgetown placed fourth with a total of 93 points.  The Hoyas entered the day having captured the last six BIG EAST team titles.  DePaul rounded out the top five on the team leaderboard, with 155 points.

In the men's race, Habler and Butler's William Zegarski - the defending BIG EAST champion - began to separate from the lead pack over the final kilometer.  The race came down to a two-man battle over the final 400m, with the Villanova senior able to use his closing speed to build a five-second advantage.  With the win, it marks the 16th time a Villanova runner has won the BIG EAST men's individual championship.

Zegarski was runner-up in 2026, as the Bulldogs' graduate student crossed the finish line in a time of 23:03.8.  Georgetown's duo of Birhanu Harriman (23:09.5) and Joe O'Brien (23:20.2) finished third and fourth overall, followed by Providence's Cormac Dixon in fifth place (23:27.2).

The team race on the men's side was a tight battle between No. 11 Georgetown and No. 12 Villanova, with the Hoyas winning by seven points - 33-40.  Georgetown placed all five scorers among the top 10 overall finishers spaced apart by only 34 seconds.   After the 3-4 finish from Harriman and O'Brien, the Hoyas had Luke Ondracek place seventh (23:29.8), Quinn Parrish across in ninth (23:42.8), and Daniel Winter finish 10th (23:43.3).

For the runner-up Wildcats, three runners finished in the top 10 and all five scorers across in 1:01 through the top 13.  Charlie Moore placed sixth (23:28.5) and Thomas McMahon was eighth (23:40.1) before a trio of Nova runners crossed the finish line 12-13-14 in Ben Thomas (23:53.3), Jack Coomber (23:58.9), and CJ Sullivan (23:59.5).

Providence and Butler each finished with 76 points, with the Friars earning the tiebreaker based upon the sixth finisher (24 vs. 27).  Marquette placed fifth, with 173 points.
 
Tim Brock and his Providence assistants were named BIG EAST Women's Coaching Staff of the Year, while Georgetown's Brandon Bonsey 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-BIG EAST first team and the next 10 finishers are named to the all-conference second team.

Women's Top Finishers

1. Barrett Justema, Georgetown - 19:31.5
2. Gabby Schmidt, Providence - 19:36.2
3. Tilly O'Connor, Villanova - 19:37.0
4. Rosemary Shay, Villanova - 19:38.7
5. Anna Gardiner, Providence - 19:55.1
6. Sascha Letica, UConn - 19:59.0
7. Megan Harris, Providence - 20:15.3
8. Brooke Strauss, UConn - 20:17.4
9. Emily Bush, Providence - 20:18.9
10. Maeve Smith, Villanova - 20:27.6
11. Zoe Mosher, Villanova - 20:29.3
12. Allison Wasson, UConn - 20:38.4
13. Kate Currie, Providence - 20:40.0
14. Malin Rahm, UConn - 20:46.5
15. Annie Mann, Providence, 20:46.9
16. Hannah Jicha, Villanova - 20:47.6
17. Lucia West, Providence - 20:49.5
18. Tessa Roe, DePaul - 20:50.8
19. Hayley Martin, UConn - 20:52.0
20. Isabella Orozco, DePaul - 20:55.1

Women's Team Scores

1. Providence - 30
2. Villanova - 44
3. UConn - 59
4. Georgetown - 93
5. DePaul - 155
6. Butler - 169
7. Xavier - 230
8. Marquette - 268
9. Creighton - 272
10. Seton Hall - 291
11. St. John's - 324

Men's Top Finishers

1. Bailey Habler, Villanova - 22:58.3
2. William Zegarski, Butler - 23:03.8
3. Birhanu Harriman, Georgetown - 23:09.5
4. Joe O'Brien, Georgetown - 23:20.2
5. Cormac Dixon, Providence - 23:27.2
6. Charlie Moore, Villanova - 23:28.5
7. Luke Ondracek, Georgetown - 23:29.8
8. Thomas McMahon, Villanova - 23:40.1
9. Quinn Parrish, Georgetown - 23:42.8
10. Daniel Winter, Georgetown - 23:43.3
11. Graham Tomori, Butler - 23:45.7
12. Ben Thomas, Villanova - 23:53.3
13. Jack Coomber, Villanova - 23:58.9
14. CJ Sullivan, Villanova - 23:59.5
15. Daniel Prescott, Providence - 24:00.5
16. Tyler Bartlett, Providence - 24:00.9
17. Jack Fenlon, Villanova - 24:08.7
18. Jack Small, Providence - 24:09.5
19. Kyle Grove, Butler - 24:11.2
20. Mason Kreig, DePaul - 24:12.0

Men's Team Scores
     1. Georgetown - 33
     2. Villanova - 40
     3. Providence - 76
         Butler - 76
     5. Marquette - 173
     6. Creighton - 201
     7. DePaul - 207
     8. Xavier - 212
     9. Seton Hall - 224