Women Finish Third, Men Eighth at BIG EAST Championship
10/28/2005 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Click here for full men's results
The No. 29 ranked Marquette women's cross country team placed third, while the men's squad finished eighth today at the BIG EAST Championship, held at Van Cortlandt Park in Bronx, N.Y.
In the women's race, the Golden Eagles tallied 105 points. Notre Dame, the No. 4 ranked team nationally, captured the team title with 34 points. Providence was second, with 59 points.
Leading the way for MU was Cassie Peller, who finished 14th overall in a time of 21:49 for the six-kilometer course. By virtue of her top 15 finish, Peller was named to the all-conference team.
Marquette's strength came in their pack, as the 1-6 finishers for the Blue & Gold were all within 30 seconds of each other.
"Our pack got us third today." said head coach Dave Uhrich. "Some of the other teams in front of us had front-runners, but our depth paid off for us."
Michaela Courtney was 20th overall, in a time of 22:07, followed by Susie Emond in 21st (22:11) and Terri Emond in 23rd (22:15). Tara Hinke rounded out the Golden Eagle scorers in 27th place (22:18). Heidi Lindeman finished on the heels of Hinke in 28th (22:19).
"We were missing one of our top runners today and I was concerned about who was going to step up." Uhrich explained. "And Tara Hinke, a senior who had never finished as a scorer in her Marquette career, stepped up and was our fifth runner today. I'm proud of her, that's the kind of performances we'll need down the stretch."
"Getting third in our new conference, one as good as the BIG EAST is, is certainly exciting." added Uhrich. "Hopefully, we can continue this progress into our next meet at regionals."
On the men's side, the Golden Eagles totalled 238 points. Notre Dame captured the team crown, compiling 31 points.
David Henderson was MU's top finisher, crossing the line in 35th place in a time of 25:55. Jeremy Williams was close behind, finishing in 39th place (26:01). Kyle Saginus (49th, 26:14), Josh Pinter (57th, 26:43) and Drew Craig (58th, 26:49) rounded out the Golden Eagles scorers.
"We know that we're really young as a team, but today's race was our best all season." said Uhrich. "We knew it would be a bit of a struggle in such a tough conference, but today's race was something to build off for regionals and into next season."
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