NEW YORK – UConn's Anique Poulin and Butler's Kyle Grove earned this week's BIG EAST Cross Country awards.  Poulin took first place overall and set a new course record at the Hartford Invitational. Grove led the Bulldogs at the Spartan Invitational, placing sixth overall.

BIG EAST Female Athlete of the Week
Anique Poulin, UConn, So.
Poulin captured first place at the Hartford Invitational en route to setting a new course record at Keney Park.  The sophomore covered the 3K course in a time of 10:39.20, guiding six Huskies in the top 10 finishers of the race.  The Huskies took the team title with 16 points.

BIG EAST Male Athlete of the Week
Kyle Grove, Butler, So.
Grove opened the 2026 season for the Bulldogs with a sixth-place finish at the Spartan Invitational.  The sophomore covered the 8K course in a time of 24:36.1, leading Butler to a second place team finish.

Women's Notes – St. John's placed fourth at the Br. John "Paddy" Doyle/Iona Meet of Champions at Van Cortlandt Park...Naiara Garcia-Moreno led the Red Storm with her third place finish, covering the 5K course in a time of 19:04.30, while Attoya Harvey was eighth (19:39.30)...Georgetown freshman Esme Campbell made her collegiate debut in the open 5K at the Cantello Invitational, taking first place in a time of 19:07.4 for the 5K...four Hoyas runners finished among the top 16 of the race...Marquette finished third at the Phoenix Open, led by Isabelle Wiebe's 17th place finish  Butler's Hannah Moore was the top finisher at the Spartan Invitational, finishing 24th overall in a time of 21:39.9 for the 6K course...the Bulldogs were fifth in the team standings.

Men's Notes – Butler placed second as a team at the Spartan Invitational, as the No. 16 Bulldogs held out several members from the team's season-opening race...Marquette's Dylan Riniker placed fifth in a time of 25:22.4 for 8K at the Phoenix Open...he was one of three Golden Eagles' runners to place in the top nine, en route to a second place finish on the team scoreboard.

In The Polls – The next set of USTFCCCA regional and national polls are set for Sept. 21 and 22, respectfully.  

BIG EAST cross country teams were well-represented on the 2026 USTFCCCA Preseason National Polls, released on Sept. 1. On the women's poll, Villanova sits at No. 27, followed by Georgetown at No. 29.  Providence also received votes.  For the men, Butler is No. 16, while Georgetown and Villanova both received votes.

Several BIG EAST teams are featured among the USTFCCCA Regional rankings.  
Women
Mid-Atlantic: 4. Villanova; 5. Georgetown
Northeast: 2. Providence; 6. UConn

Men
Great Lakes: 3. Butler
Mid-Atlantic: 2. Georgetown; 3. Villanova
Northeast: 3. Providence