The Georgetown men’s and women’s cross country teams traveled to the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships on Friday in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The men’s team placed second out of 25 teams in the 10K, advancing via automatic bid to the NCAA championships in Terre Haute, IN next weekend while the women’s team placed third out of 31 teams, but unfortunately just missed out on an at-large bid to NCAAs.
The men’s team was paced by top 10 finishes from fifth year senior Nicholas Wareham and graduate student Spencer Brown. Wareham and Brown finished 5th and 8th respectively. Senior Jack Van Scoter, sophomore Price Owens, and senior Matthew Bouthillete rounded out the top five for the Hoya men, placing 11th, 18th, and 25th respectively for a low score of 67 and a very quick average time of 30:27. The Hoyas were solidly behind conference rival Villanova, who won the region scoring 37 points.
Head Coach Brandon Bonsey was thrilled with the men’s performance: “I am beyond excited for the men to automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships next week,” he said. “All seven men ran tough team races. I was especially proud of our upperclassmen. Nick Wareham, Spencer Brown, Jack Van Scoter and Matt Bouthillette led us today. Those four guys experienced the pain of the last two years not qualifying and made sure that wouldn’t be the case today. They raced hard and for each other. We are ready to test ourselves against the best teams in the NCAA in eight days.”
The women’s team was led by stellar races from sophomore Sami Corman and graduate student Madeleine Perez, both of whom individually qualified for NCAAs. Perez placed fifth overall in the 6k race with a time of 20:22, and Corman’s time of 20:34 was a personal best, placing her 10th overall. Sophomore Alyssa Aldridge, junior Baylee Jones, and sophomore Katherine Modrall rounded out the top five for the Hoya women placing 18th, 23rd, and 35th respectively. The women were looking to defeat a Villanova team that beat them by a mere four points at the Big East championships and to regain their No. 2 regional ranking, but were unable to do so as both the Wildcats and a talented Penn State team each placed three runners in the top 10, proving too much to overcome.
Head Coach Julie Culley shared mixed emotions about the Hoyas’ results: “The women ran the best race of our 2019 season today,” she said. “Although narrowly missing the NCAA final is a disappointment, we are thrilled with Madeline and Sami’s performance finishing fifth and 10th, while nabbing two of the four automatic individual spots for the NCAA final.
“We are the second team in the NCAA to not make the final and that certainly stings, and in most years we scored enough at-large points to sneak through, but it was a tough year in the NCAA. We took a huge step as a program today and with one sixth year and the next four individual finishes being from the sophomore class, the future is bright for the Hoyas. We can’t wait to see Sami and Madeline race for Georgetown next week.”
Corman and Perez will join the men’s squad in Terre Haute next Saturday for the NCAA championships. Perez looks to cap off a fantastic career while the men return to compete among the nation’s best.
FloTrack will provide exclusive and on-demand coverage of the races. The women’s race will begin at 11:15 a.m. and the men’s race at 12:15 p.m. Live results can be found on the PrimeTime Timing Website and additional championships coverage can be found on the FloTrack website. Follow @GUVoiceSports for coverage of all sports on the Hilltop.
