DePaul University Athletics
Cross Country Heads to the BIG EAST Championships
10/30/2008 12:00:00 AM | CROSS COUNTRY
CHICAGO The DePaul men’s and women’s cross country return to Bronx, N.Y. this Friday for the 2008 BIG EAST Conference Championships. The Blue Demons compete against the best of the conference at VanCortlandt Park with a women’s 6K race at 9:30 a.m. (CST) followed by a men’s 8K trek at 10:10 a.m.
Both squads are familiar with the championship site, having raced in VanCortlandt Park earlier this season at the September 6 Fordham Fiasco. The men placed fourth, behind a runner-up champion performance out of freshman Matthew Graham. After logging a 26:43.34 in the 8K race, Graham was named BIG EAST Athlete of the Week.
Following a third place performance at the National Catholic Championships, the men’s team was awarded with a No. 14 Midwest Regional Ranking issued by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
The Blue Demon men continued to climb up the rankings, reaching No. 13 after third and second place performances at the Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational and the Bradley Classic, respectively.
The young women’s squad has been relying on the experience of sophomores Mary Cate Quiett and Stephanie Hughes, and junior Terah Cheatham. The trio has placed in the DePaul top-five in every race this season.
The team’s first outing at VanCortlandt Park brought a sixth place finish back to DePaul. Quiett was the top finisher for DePaul, logging a 5K time of 19:34. Quiett continued to improve over the course of the season, lowering her average mile pace to 5:55 during last week’s 6K at the Bradley Classic.
The Blue Demons will need strong performances out of freshman Kelly Pickering, Claire O'Brien, and Erin Lakie, who have all taken turns reregistering team top-five times, if the team wants to improve from last year’s 10th place conference finish.
The men’s race boasts two teams currently ranked in the USTFCCCA Top-30 poll. Gerogetown holds the highest ranking at No. 10, and Providence sits at No. 27, while Notre Dame and Vilanova also received votes. In addition, 10 out of the BIG EAST’s 16 teams hold regional rankings, including DePaul’s No. 13. Last year’s champion, Louisville, is placed at No. 9 in the Southeast Regional rankings.
The women’s field of competition proves equally competitive as four squads are nationally ranked. 2007 BIG EAST Champion West Virginia sits on top at No. 5, followed by Villanova at No. 6. Georgetown and Providence were placed at No. 11 and No. 24. respectively, while Syracuse also received votes.
The 2007 BIG EAST Championships in Louisville, Ky. saw West Virginia take the women’s title and Lousiville win the men’s competition, marking the first conference championship crown for either school. Until last year, only four teams have won the BIG EAST Championship on both the men’s and women’s side. Georgetown, Notre Dame, Villanova, and Providence have claimed every title dating back to 1979.
Last Season, the Blue Demon’s placed 10th on the women’s side, while the men finished 12th.
The top 15 individual finishers in each of Friday’s races earn All-BIG EAST honors.
Last Year’s Individual Champions Out of the Mix
Villanova senior Bobby Curtis and Georgetown junior Melissa Grelli claimed the individual championships last year, but neither will be in action in Friday’s races.
Curtis paced the men a year ago with a time of 23:08 and Grelli crossed the finish line in 20:05 to lead the women. Having the individual winner doesn’t always mean team success as neither the Villanova men or Georgetown women won or were runners-up in the BIG EAST Championships.
10 Different BIG EAST Schools Earn Weekly Awards
Each week of the season the BIG EAST selected a men’s and women’s cross country athlete of the week. A total of 16 awards were received by 10 different schools, with only Louisville sweeping both men’s and women’s awards in the season’s fourth week.
The Cardinals also had the only two-time individual winner in junior Scott McClain, who was named BIG EAST Athlete of the Week in the first and fourth weeks of the season. The other 14 awards were received by a different athlete each award period.
Men Women
1. UofL Scott McClain PC Danette Doetzel
2. DPU Matthew Graham UC Lilian Jelimo
3. SU Dan Busby WVU Ahna Lewis
4. UofL Scott McClain UofL Tarah McKay
5. UC Solomon Kessio USF Yasmin Smith
6. PC David McCarthy WVU Marie Louise Asselin
7. UC Tommy Morgan RU Cheyenne Ogletree
8. Pitt Greg Kareis VU Bogdana Mimic
If You’re Hoping to Break a Record...
Athletes in this year’s championships will have 11 season’s worth of Van Cortlandt Park times to deal with in order to set a record in the event.
The men’s BIG EAST Championship record time at Van Cortlandt Park is 23:48, set by Providence’s Martin Fagan in 2005. The women’s record time is 20:01, produced by Kim Smith, also of Providence, in 2003.