A few days of rain left the ground at the E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville, KY, a bit wet Saturday, but the flat course at the Big East Cross Country Championships provided few challenges for Georgetown’s runners, with senior Melissa Grelli’s first place finish providing the highlight of the weekend. In the men’s 8k race, the Hoyas, ranked 16th in the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association national poll, placed second. The 11th-ranked women finished third in their 6k race.
Both squads saw gutsy performances from their top finishers. On the men’s side, junior Andrew Bumbalough sprained his hamstring coming down a steep hill with just under a mile left in the race. The junior was able to withstand the pain and cross the finish line in a time of 23:35.65 for fifth place.
“At first I got concerned that I would not be able to finish,” Bumbalough said. “After a few steps, though, I realized that I could finish and knew my team needed me to for a chance to win.”
Senior Matt Debole and junior Levi Miller gave the Hoyas two more top-10 finishers, placing seventh and ninth respectively. Rounding out Georgetown’s scorers were senior Justin Scheid in 16th place and junior Mike Krisch in 23rd. Bumbalough, Debole and Miller earned themselves Big East Men’s All-Conference Team honors.
The Hoyas’ total of 60 points was not enough to withstand Lousville’s 55 point finish and the Cardinals took home the conference title. This was Georgetown’s fourth-consecutive runner-up finish in the Big East.
“To be honest, it’s definitely a bit frustrating,” first-year Coach Patrick Henner said of failing to grab the title. “Over the past five, six years, we’ve always been in contention to win. I know our program is sound, and the future is bright. If we keep putting ourselves in a position to win, we will win and win many of them.”
In the women’s race, Georgetown’s plan to run conservatively at the outset then pass other team’s runners as they tired didn’t work as well as hoped. West Virginia, ranked 19th, won the meet and Big East title with 77 points while 22nd-ranked Providence took second with 87 points. The Hoyas had a total of 92 points.
The Hoyas received a first place finish from senior Melissa Grelli with a time of 20:05.55. Redshirt senior Elizabeth Maloy took 12th place in front of junior Lise Ogrodnick, who placed 13th. The trio also garnered spots on the Big East Women’s All-Conference team for their efforts. Finishing 31st was sophomore Renee Tomlin, while fellow sophomore Lauren Gregory rounded out the scoring with a 35th place finish.
“We are a little bit disappointed,” Coach Chris Miltenberg said. “We might have had a better chance of winning if we had been more aggressive to begin … but I’m really happy with how just about everyone did.”
The Hoyas have a little more than a week to regroup from their Big East performances. On November 10, the teams will head to Lehigh, Pa. for the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional.
