DePaul University Athletics
Cross Country Enters BIG EAST Conference Championships
10/26/2007 12:00:00 AM | CROSS COUNTRY
CHICAGO The DePaul men’s and women’s cross country return to Louisville, Kentucky this Saturday for the 2007 BIG EAST Conference Championships. The Blue Demons compete against the best of the conference at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park with a men’s 8K race at 10 a.m. (CST) and a women’s 6K trek at 11:50 a.m.
The Blue Demons are familiar with the championship site, having raced in E.P. “Tom” Sawyer Park earlier this season at the September 29 Greater Louisville Classic.
The men’s race boasts four teams currently ranked in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Top-30 poll. Notre Dame holds the highest ranking at No. 13, Georgetown sits at No. 16, Louisville shares a tie for No. 19 and Providence comes in at No. 23. Three women’s teams hold national rankings as No. 11 Georgetown, No. 19 West Virginia and No. 22 Providence enter the 6K race.
Nick Schaefer led the DePaul men’s team in every race of the season and most recently finished 15th overall at the Bradley Classic with an 8K time of 25:20. He recorded a personal-best 8K time of 24:57 at the Greater Louisville Classic and has finished among the top 20 in four races.
Claire Duck recorded four top-10 performances this season while pacing the DePaul women’s squad in every race. She finished seventh at the Bradley Classic with a 6K time of 21:23 and won individual titles at the UIC Opener and Fordham Invitational.
DePaul’s last two meets saw Jakub Kolacz and Luke Rygh cross the line as the second and third finishers for the men’s team. Kolacz placed 37th at Bradley with an 8K time of 25:53 and finished 65th at Louisville with a personal-best 8K time of 25:23. Rygh finished 56th at Bradley with an 8K time of 26:08 and took 117th place at Louisville with an 8K time of 25:58.
Mary Cate Quiett followed Duck as the second finisher for the women’s team in every meet of the season. She placed 23rd at Bradley with a 6K time of 22:02 and took 39th place at Louisville with a 5K time of 18:29. Terah Cheatham trailed Quiett at Bradley as she finished 56th with a 6K time of 22:47.
The 2006 BIG EAST Championships in Boston, Massachussetts saw Providence sweep both the men’s and women’s team titles. The Friars’ Martin Fagan won the men’s individual crown with an 8K time of 23:09, while Frances Koons of Villanova won the women’s 6K title with a time of 20:28. The Blue Demons placed 12th in the men’s standings and 14th in the women’s standings.
The top 15 individual finishers in each of Saturday’s races earn All-BIG EAST honors.