Women Fifth, Men Eighth at BIG EAST Cross Country Championships

Oct. 27, 2006

Women's Results
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BOSTON - Led by a 13th-place finish from junior Cassie Peller, the Marquette women's cross country team placed fifth at the 2006 BIG EAST Cross Country Championships at Franklin Park in Boston, Mass., on a sunny Friday afternoon with temperatures in the mid 40's. Senior Brent Des Roches, finishing 20th in a time of 24:19, led the men's team to an eighth-place finish on. Crossing the line in a time of 21:28, Peller earned her second-straight All-BIG EAST honor for her top-15 performance.

"We didn't finish quite where we wanted to be today," said head coach Dave Uhrich. "Both teams ran well, but unfortunately for us, the entire conference has gotten better."

The women's team finished with 136 points on the 6,000-meter course, 97 behind Providence, which captured the team title with 39 points. After Peller, finishing in the top five for the Golden Eagles was senior Michaela Courtney in 21st-place (21:44), freshman Jayne Grebinski in 25th (21:48), freshman Nicole Burr in 36th (22:12) and junior Kaitlyn Chambers in 41st (22:21). Grebinski was also the seventh-fastest freshman in the meet.

"We are a young team with four of our top eight being freshmen, and only two runners, Cassie and Michaela, were back with experience," explained Uhrich. "They led the way for us. From there we had youth and older runners with little experience. In this conference, there are four teams in front of us, all traditional powerhouses. For us to beat them, we have to have a really good meet. Our youth will play to our advantage in the future."

Others finishing for Marquette were junior Nina Hoppenjan in 45th-place (22:28) and freshman Anna Weber in 49th (22:28). Senior Heidi Lindeman and freshman Amanda Beggs crossed the line in a tie with the 51st fastest time (22:38).

Frances Koons of Villanova finished in first place in a time of 20:28.

The men scored 232 points on the 8,000-meter course. Junior Scott Mueller (24:24, 25th), sophomore Kyle Saginus (25:09, 58th), senior Jeremy Williams (25:19, 60th) and junior Josh Pinter (25:54, 69th) joined des Roches in the top five for Marquette.

Sophomores Drew Craig, finishing in 76th place (26:08), and Cody Miles, crossing the line in 77th place (26:14), completed the Golden Eagles first seven. Sophomore Steve Briggs and senior Tommy Schmitz also competed for MU, finishing with the 105th (26:56) and 109th (27:15) fastest times, respectively.

"We ran much better than last year, but the conference has gotten even better as well," said Uhrich. "We finished in the same place as last year, ever with a much better team. It can be seen through our other meets how much better we have gotten. It was a little frustrating to be so much better and still finish in the same place."

Providence also won the men's title, scoring 52 points. The Friars' Martin Fagan captured the individual title in a time of 23:09.