Senior Melissa Grelli had an historic performance this past Saturday at the Big East Championship in Louisville, Ky. The California native bested the rest of the field to take first place and became the first Georgetown woman to bring the individual conference title to the Hilltop since 1983.
“It felt great,” Grelli said. “I went out with coach’s race strategy, and it worked. It felt great crossing the finish line in front of the coaches and family.”
Grelli’s 20:05.55 performance earned her a spot on the Big East Women’s All-Conference Team and broke the E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park course record. Grelli was humble about her accomplishment.
“I wasn’t expecting to be Big East champ or break the course record,” Grelli said. “I was just doing what I do every day. Running.”
Others didn’t hesitate to heap on the praise, including her coach, Chris Miltenberg.
“She ran an outstanding race,” Miltenberg said. “She can now run with anyone in the country.”
Grelli’s first-place finish led the Lady Hoyas to a third-place team result. Elizabeth Maloy and Lise Ogrodnick joined Grelli on the Big East All-Conference Team. Despite individual accomplishments, Georgetown was not happy with their third-place result, and Grelli made it clear amidst her joy of the individual title.
“We went in with the goal of being Big East champs,” Grelli said. “We’re disappointed with third place. This race doesn’t show what we can do, and we need to move on and learn from it.”
The Hoyas and Grelli will get a chance to show what they can do as a team in the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional on November 10.
