Friday, October 31
Ashland, Neb.
11:00 AM
Creighton University
vs
BIG EAST Championships
Reyna Heisserer, Taylor Rorick and Carly Manchester
Photo by: Jay Slagle
Cross Country Teams Shine on Home Course at BIG EAST Championships
10/31/2025 2:41:00 PM | Men's Cross Country / Track, Women's Cross Country / Track
ASHLAND, Neb. -- The Creighton Cross Country teams exceeded expectations on both sides as it hosted the BIG EAST Cross Country Championships presented by JEEP  for the first time on Friday afternoon at Mahoney State Park in Ashland, Neb. The Bluejay men placed sixth for the second straight fall while the women finished seventh, its best mark at the league championships in five years.
The No. 10 Georgetown women and the No. 14 Butler men won the team titles. Georgetown became only the second program in BIG EAST history to capture six consecutive conference women's cross country crowns. For the Butler men, it claimed its fourth title in the last six years. The Hoyas' Melissa Riggins and the Bulldogs' William Zegarski and captured the women's and men's individual races. Â
In the men's race, Zegarski won his first BIG EAST Cross Country title, covering the 8K course in a time of 23:08.5. It marked the fourth time a Butler runner has captured the conference individual title. Teammate Matthew Forrester finished second, close behind in a time of 23:11.6. Georgetown's Birhanu Harriman finished third overall, in a time of 23:15.62, followed by Bailey Habler of Villanova in fourth place (23:16.00). Butler's Jesse Hamlin crossed the line in fifth place (23:16.24).
As a team, Butler finished with 26 points, placing three runners in the top five and all five scoring finishers among the top 12. The Bulldogs' Austin Gabay was sixth (23:16.92) and Brendan Thomas placed 12th (23:45.82) to round out the scorers.
No. 30 Georgetown finished second overall, with a team score of 42. The Hoyas placed four in the top 10 and had all five scorers among the top 15. Â MacCallum Rowe (23:18.47) and Luke Johnson (23:34.22) finished seventh and eighth, respectively, while Quinn Parrish (23:40.81) was 10th for Georgetown. Villanova (62) was third and was led by Charlie Moore's ninth place finish in a time of 23:36.46. Providence (110) was fourth and DePaul (163) fifth on the team leaderboard.
Junior Oliver Annus (24:33.423) and senior Eli Moore (24:41.963) placed 30th and 32nd, respectively, to lead the host Bluejays. Annus' finish was tied for the fourth-best mark by a Bluejay since joining the BIG EAST in 2013. Freshman Andrew Sauer placed 42nd in 25:07.664, just ahead of classmate Owen Marett's 55th in 25:24.055, while sophomore Lucas Bossinger rounded out the team scoring by taking 56th in 25:31.111. The men's race featured 83 participants.
In the women's championship, Georgetown's Riggins crossed the finish line in a time of 19:47.7 for the 6K distance. It marked the sixth time a Georgetown runner won the BIG EAST women's individual cross country title. She outlasted Villanova's Tilly O'Connor by five seconds. A pair of Hoyas - Barrett Justema (19:57.2) and Almi Nerurkar (20:00.5) - finished third and fourth, respectively. Villanova's Margaret Carroll rounded out the top five in a time of 20:01.2.
The Georgetown women placed all five scorers among the top 10 of the race, finishing with 24 points. The Hoyas' Charlotte Tomkinson placed seventh (20:03.9) and Charlotte Bell (20:18.77) was ninth, rounding out the Georgetown scorers. Georgetown now joins Villanova as the only programs to win six straight BIG EAST Cross Country Championships. From 1989-94, the Wildcats also won six straight league championships. Â
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No. 14 Villanova placed four in the top 10 - including Nicole Vanasse in eighth (20:05.38) and Amelia Arrieta in 10th (20:21.11) - finishing as runners- up with 42 points as a team. Providence was third, with five among the top 20 of the race, totaling 61 points. UConn (104) and Xavier (154) capped off the top five on the team standings.
Freshman Reyna Heisserer had an impressive showing at her first BIG EAST Championship, leading Creighton with a 39th place finish in 21:31.09. That put her just ahead of senior teammates Katherine Soule (50th in 21:52.77) and Anika Nettekoven (53rd in 21:56.19) as well as junior Taylor Rorick (54th in 22:00.27). Senior Carly Manchester rounded out the Bluejay scoring with a 56th place showing as she crossed the finish line in 22:03.89. The women's race included 96 competitors overall.
Georgetown's Mitchell Baker and his staff were named BIG EAST Women's Coaching Staff of the Year, while Butler's Matt Roe and his staff earned BIG EAST Men's Coaching Staff of the Year honors. The top 10 female and male individual finishers are named to the All-Conference First Team and the next 10 finishers are named to the All-Conference Second Team.
Women's Top Finishers:
The No. 10 Georgetown women and the No. 14 Butler men won the team titles. Georgetown became only the second program in BIG EAST history to capture six consecutive conference women's cross country crowns. For the Butler men, it claimed its fourth title in the last six years. The Hoyas' Melissa Riggins and the Bulldogs' William Zegarski and captured the women's and men's individual races. Â
In the men's race, Zegarski won his first BIG EAST Cross Country title, covering the 8K course in a time of 23:08.5. It marked the fourth time a Butler runner has captured the conference individual title. Teammate Matthew Forrester finished second, close behind in a time of 23:11.6. Georgetown's Birhanu Harriman finished third overall, in a time of 23:15.62, followed by Bailey Habler of Villanova in fourth place (23:16.00). Butler's Jesse Hamlin crossed the line in fifth place (23:16.24).
As a team, Butler finished with 26 points, placing three runners in the top five and all five scoring finishers among the top 12. The Bulldogs' Austin Gabay was sixth (23:16.92) and Brendan Thomas placed 12th (23:45.82) to round out the scorers.
No. 30 Georgetown finished second overall, with a team score of 42. The Hoyas placed four in the top 10 and had all five scorers among the top 15. Â MacCallum Rowe (23:18.47) and Luke Johnson (23:34.22) finished seventh and eighth, respectively, while Quinn Parrish (23:40.81) was 10th for Georgetown. Villanova (62) was third and was led by Charlie Moore's ninth place finish in a time of 23:36.46. Providence (110) was fourth and DePaul (163) fifth on the team leaderboard.
Junior Oliver Annus (24:33.423) and senior Eli Moore (24:41.963) placed 30th and 32nd, respectively, to lead the host Bluejays. Annus' finish was tied for the fourth-best mark by a Bluejay since joining the BIG EAST in 2013. Freshman Andrew Sauer placed 42nd in 25:07.664, just ahead of classmate Owen Marett's 55th in 25:24.055, while sophomore Lucas Bossinger rounded out the team scoring by taking 56th in 25:31.111. The men's race featured 83 participants.
In the women's championship, Georgetown's Riggins crossed the finish line in a time of 19:47.7 for the 6K distance. It marked the sixth time a Georgetown runner won the BIG EAST women's individual cross country title. She outlasted Villanova's Tilly O'Connor by five seconds. A pair of Hoyas - Barrett Justema (19:57.2) and Almi Nerurkar (20:00.5) - finished third and fourth, respectively. Villanova's Margaret Carroll rounded out the top five in a time of 20:01.2.
The Georgetown women placed all five scorers among the top 10 of the race, finishing with 24 points. The Hoyas' Charlotte Tomkinson placed seventh (20:03.9) and Charlotte Bell (20:18.77) was ninth, rounding out the Georgetown scorers. Georgetown now joins Villanova as the only programs to win six straight BIG EAST Cross Country Championships. From 1989-94, the Wildcats also won six straight league championships. Â
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No. 14 Villanova placed four in the top 10 - including Nicole Vanasse in eighth (20:05.38) and Amelia Arrieta in 10th (20:21.11) - finishing as runners- up with 42 points as a team. Providence was third, with five among the top 20 of the race, totaling 61 points. UConn (104) and Xavier (154) capped off the top five on the team standings.
Freshman Reyna Heisserer had an impressive showing at her first BIG EAST Championship, leading Creighton with a 39th place finish in 21:31.09. That put her just ahead of senior teammates Katherine Soule (50th in 21:52.77) and Anika Nettekoven (53rd in 21:56.19) as well as junior Taylor Rorick (54th in 22:00.27). Senior Carly Manchester rounded out the Bluejay scoring with a 56th place showing as she crossed the finish line in 22:03.89. The women's race included 96 competitors overall.
Georgetown's Mitchell Baker and his staff were named BIG EAST Women's Coaching Staff of the Year, while Butler's Matt Roe and his staff earned BIG EAST Men's Coaching Staff of the Year honors. The top 10 female and male individual finishers are named to the All-Conference First Team and the next 10 finishers are named to the All-Conference Second Team.
Women's Top Finishers:
- Melissa Riggins, Georgetown - 19:47.64
- Tilly O'Connor, Villanova - 19:52.70
- Barrett Justema, Georgetown - 19:57.20
- Almi Nerurkar, Georgetown - 20:00.44
- Margaret Carroll, Villanova - 20:01.20
- Anna Gardiner, Providence - 20:03.14
- Charlotte Tomkinson, Georgetown - 20:03.83
- Nicole Vanasse, Villanova - 20:05.38
- Charlotte Bell, Georgetown - 20:18.77
- Amelia Arrieta, Villanova - 20:21.11
- Gabby Schmidt, Providence - 20:22.65
- Kate Currie, Providence - 20:23.91
- Sascha Letica, UConn - 20:25.87
- Cara Laverty, Providence - 20:27.52
- Myla Toole, Xavier - 20:31.78
- Chloe Trudel, UConn - 20:39.45
- Rosemary Shay, Villanova - 20:42.09
- Emily Bush, Providence - 20:45.84
- Brooke Strauss, UConn - 20:58.19
- Caroline Cummings, Georgetown - 21:04.12
Women's Team Scores:
- Georgetown - 24
- Villanova - 42
- Providence - 61
- UConn - 104
- Xavier - 154
- Butler - 207
- Creighton - 209
- DePaul - 215
- Seton Hall - 267
- Marquette - 270
- St. John's - 340
Men's Top Finishers:
- William Zegarski, Butler - 23:08.41
- Matthew Forrester, Butler - 23:11.57
- Birhanu Harriman, Georgetown - 23:15.62
- Bailey Habler, Villanova - 23:16.00
- Jesse Hamlin, Butler - 23:16.24
- Austin Gabay, Butler - 23:16.92
- MacCallum Rowe, Georgetown - 23:18.47
- Luke Johnson, Georgetown - 23:34.22
- Charlie Moore, Villanova - 23:36.46
- Quinn Parrish, Georgetown - 23:40.81
- Mohamed Abdullahi, DePaul - 23:44.42
- Brendan Thomas, Butler - 23:45.82
- CJ Sullivan, Villanova - 23:50.06
- Alazar Teffra, Georgetown - 23:51.99
- Eli Fullerton, Butler - 23:53.20
- Matteo Rosio, Butler - 23:56.72
- Jack Coomber, Villanova - 23:58.57
- Daniel Prescott, Providence - 24:02.30
- Ben Thomas, Villanova - 24:04.83
- Elliott Pugh, Providence - 24:04.87
Men's Team Scores:
- Butler - 26
- Georgetown - 42
- Villanova - 62
- Providence - 110
- DePaul - 163
- Creighton - 191
- Xavier - 209
- Marquette - 218
- Seton Hall - 226
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Cross Country / Track
/ Men's Cross Country / Track
/ Women's Cross Country / Track
/ Women's Cross Country / Track
/ Men's Cross Country / Track
/ Men's Cross Country / Track
/ Women's Cross Country / Track
/ Women's Cross Country / Track
/ Men's Cross Country / Track
/ Women's Cross Country / Track
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