Friday, February 28
Chicago, Ill. (Gately Park Indoor Track)
1:45 PM
Creighton University
vs
BIG EAST Indoor Championships
Taylor Rorick is cheered on by her teammates as she runs the anchor leg.
Photo by: Steve Woltmann
Track Makes Debut at BIG EAST Indoor Championships
3/1/2025 7:40:00 PM | Men's Cross Country / Track, Women's Cross Country / Track
Relay teams help Bluejays earn points
CHICAGO,Ill. -- Creighton made its debut at the BIG EAST Indoor Track Championships, Presented by JEEP, on Friday and Saturday, aided by some strong performances by its relay teams.
The men's 4x800 meter relay made the podium with a third-place finish as Brian Hiltebrand, Ryan Hendrickson, Evan Kraus and Dominic Ricci finished in 7:33.01. Georgetown won the race in 7:28.30, while Providence (7:31.99) placed second.
Creighton's distance medley relay squad of Hiltebrand, Logan Piper, Hendrickson and Kraus earned a sixth-place finish in a time of 10:04.34 to contribute three points to CU's eighth-place finish in the team standings.
CU's other individual participants on the men's side included Ryan Montera in the 5000 (12th in 14:40.12), Marcos Gonzalez in the 3,000 (21st in 8:44.07) and Logan Piper in the 60-meter hurdles (11th in 8.71 to tie a school-record).
The Bluejay women took eighth in the 4x800 meter relay in a time of 9:06.83, as Katie Roche, Anika Nettekoven, Carly Manchester and Taylor Rorick earned the distinction of becoming CU's first group to earn points at a BIG EAST Indoor Track Championship. Creighton would finish in 10th on the women's side.
Finishing just outside the points in the distance medley relay was Roche, Manchester, Nettekoven and Rorick, who completed the race in 12:13.34. CU's only other female competitor was Katherine Soule, who was 20th in the 3,000 meters as she finished in 10:15.65.
"It was a great opportunity to compete at BIG EAST Indoor Championships for the first time ever. The BIG EAST is perennially one of the best mid-distance/distance conferences in the country and Logan saw an All-American in the hurdles. Competing against such elite competition is a true measuring stick of how far we have come, but also the work that lies ahead. I'm proud of how we competed and even our improvements from day one to day two, as there were definitely some nerves that first day.
"I was also exceptionally proud of the 4x8 team, our first ever BIG EAST podium. It's a great testament to those guys and Coach Fayers, for building that mid-distance program, and just a milestone moment for our program as a whole."
Assistant coach Matthew Fayers was also enthused by the performance. "The BIG EAST Indoor Championships was a great opportunity for our program and to see where our athletes are at," noted Fayers. "Our first day was certainly a bit of a learning experience at our first championship, however they adjusted well on Saturday, we started the day off with our 3k athletes being in the mix and closed out with great performances in both 4x800m relays. Our ladies improved from the last relay at the BIG EAST Outdoor Championships throughout the lineup and our men had one of the most impressive performances I've seen and earned our first ever podium performance!"
The Connecticut men and women both captured their fourth consecutive titles at the BIG EAST Indoor Track and Field Championships.
The UConn men finished with 236.5 points. Second place went to Villanova with 113 points while DePaul finished third with 90. On the women's side, the Huskies finished with 189 points. Georgetown came in second with 112 points and St. John's took third with 93.
For the women, Georgetown's Rebecca Ochan was named the Most Outstanding Track Performer and the High Point Performer of the Meet with 22.0 individual points. Ochan finished first in the 200m with a time of 23.74 seconds and first in the 400m with a time of 53.63.
Villanova's Roschell Clayton was named the Most Outstanding Field Performer after placing first in the high jump with a mark of 1.82m which currently ranks 25th in the country.
In the 3000m, Providence's Alex Millard broke the BIG EAST Indoor Championship record with a time of 8:50.32. She was also part of the record-breaking distance medley relay team who finished in 10:54.78.
For the men, Georgetown's Tinoda Matsatsa was named the Most Outstanding Track Performer after winning gold in both the 800m and 4x400 relay. His time of 1:46.10 in the 800m broke the BIG EAST Indoor Championship record previously set by Villanova's Sean Dolan in 2024.
UConn's Kasey Savage and Diarmuid O'Connor were named co-Most Outstanding Field Performers. Savage placed second in the long jump (7.50m), third in the triple jump (14.61m) and fourth in the high jump (2.01m). He also was named the High Point Performer of the Meet for the fourth straight season after finishing with 18.5 points. O'Connor placed first in the heptathlon after finishing first in five of the seven events.
DePaul's Demetruis Rolle broke a BIG EAST Indoor Track and Field Championship record in the preliminaries of the 60m with a time of 6.70 seconds. The record had previously belonged to Michael LeBlanc of Syracuse in 2007 who finished in 6.71 seconds. Another record was broken when Darius Brown ran the 60 hurdles in 7.61. He broke his own record of 7.63 from 2024.
Creighton opens its outdoor track season on April 4-5 at the USD Early Bird in Vermillion, S.D. "We are looking forward to outdoor and the opportunities that await," added Gannon.
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The men's 4x800 meter relay made the podium with a third-place finish as Brian Hiltebrand, Ryan Hendrickson, Evan Kraus and Dominic Ricci finished in 7:33.01. Georgetown won the race in 7:28.30, while Providence (7:31.99) placed second.
Creighton's distance medley relay squad of Hiltebrand, Logan Piper, Hendrickson and Kraus earned a sixth-place finish in a time of 10:04.34 to contribute three points to CU's eighth-place finish in the team standings.
CU's other individual participants on the men's side included Ryan Montera in the 5000 (12th in 14:40.12), Marcos Gonzalez in the 3,000 (21st in 8:44.07) and Logan Piper in the 60-meter hurdles (11th in 8.71 to tie a school-record).
The Bluejay women took eighth in the 4x800 meter relay in a time of 9:06.83, as Katie Roche, Anika Nettekoven, Carly Manchester and Taylor Rorick earned the distinction of becoming CU's first group to earn points at a BIG EAST Indoor Track Championship. Creighton would finish in 10th on the women's side.
Finishing just outside the points in the distance medley relay was Roche, Manchester, Nettekoven and Rorick, who completed the race in 12:13.34. CU's only other female competitor was Katherine Soule, who was 20th in the 3,000 meters as she finished in 10:15.65.
"It was a great opportunity to compete at BIG EAST Indoor Championships for the first time ever. The BIG EAST is perennially one of the best mid-distance/distance conferences in the country and Logan saw an All-American in the hurdles. Competing against such elite competition is a true measuring stick of how far we have come, but also the work that lies ahead. I'm proud of how we competed and even our improvements from day one to day two, as there were definitely some nerves that first day.
"I was also exceptionally proud of the 4x8 team, our first ever BIG EAST podium. It's a great testament to those guys and Coach Fayers, for building that mid-distance program, and just a milestone moment for our program as a whole."
Assistant coach Matthew Fayers was also enthused by the performance. "The BIG EAST Indoor Championships was a great opportunity for our program and to see where our athletes are at," noted Fayers. "Our first day was certainly a bit of a learning experience at our first championship, however they adjusted well on Saturday, we started the day off with our 3k athletes being in the mix and closed out with great performances in both 4x800m relays. Our ladies improved from the last relay at the BIG EAST Outdoor Championships throughout the lineup and our men had one of the most impressive performances I've seen and earned our first ever podium performance!"
The Connecticut men and women both captured their fourth consecutive titles at the BIG EAST Indoor Track and Field Championships.
The UConn men finished with 236.5 points. Second place went to Villanova with 113 points while DePaul finished third with 90. On the women's side, the Huskies finished with 189 points. Georgetown came in second with 112 points and St. John's took third with 93.
For the women, Georgetown's Rebecca Ochan was named the Most Outstanding Track Performer and the High Point Performer of the Meet with 22.0 individual points. Ochan finished first in the 200m with a time of 23.74 seconds and first in the 400m with a time of 53.63.
Villanova's Roschell Clayton was named the Most Outstanding Field Performer after placing first in the high jump with a mark of 1.82m which currently ranks 25th in the country.
In the 3000m, Providence's Alex Millard broke the BIG EAST Indoor Championship record with a time of 8:50.32. She was also part of the record-breaking distance medley relay team who finished in 10:54.78.
For the men, Georgetown's Tinoda Matsatsa was named the Most Outstanding Track Performer after winning gold in both the 800m and 4x400 relay. His time of 1:46.10 in the 800m broke the BIG EAST Indoor Championship record previously set by Villanova's Sean Dolan in 2024.
UConn's Kasey Savage and Diarmuid O'Connor were named co-Most Outstanding Field Performers. Savage placed second in the long jump (7.50m), third in the triple jump (14.61m) and fourth in the high jump (2.01m). He also was named the High Point Performer of the Meet for the fourth straight season after finishing with 18.5 points. O'Connor placed first in the heptathlon after finishing first in five of the seven events.
DePaul's Demetruis Rolle broke a BIG EAST Indoor Track and Field Championship record in the preliminaries of the 60m with a time of 6.70 seconds. The record had previously belonged to Michael LeBlanc of Syracuse in 2007 who finished in 6.71 seconds. Another record was broken when Darius Brown ran the 60 hurdles in 7.61. He broke his own record of 7.63 from 2024.
Creighton opens its outdoor track season on April 4-5 at the USD Early Bird in Vermillion, S.D. "We are looking forward to outdoor and the opportunities that await," added Gannon.
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Women's Results (18 Events Scored)Â
-
UConn – 189 pts.Â
-
Georgetown – 112Â
-
St. John's – 93Â
-
DePaul – 91Â
-
Villanova – 85Â
-
Providence – 56Â
-
Marquette – 42Â
-
Butler – 25Â
-
Xavier – 6Â
-
Creighton – 1Â
Â
Men's Results (18 Events Scored)Â
-
UConn – 236.5 pts.Â
-
Villanova – 113Â
-
DePaul – 90Â
-
Georgetown – 77Â
-
Providence – 56.5Â
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Butler – 53Â
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Marquette – 51Â
-
Creighton – 9Â
-
Xavier – 6Â
Women's Coaching Staff of the Year: ConnecticutÂ
Women's Most Outstanding Performer in Track Events: Rebecca OchanÂ
Women's Most Outstanding Performer in Field Events: Roschell ClaytonÂ
Women's High Point Performer of the Meet: Rebecca Ochan (22.0)Â
Men's Coaching Staff of the Year: ConnecticutÂ
Men's Most Outstanding Performer in Track Events: Tinoda MatsatsaÂ
Men's Most Outstanding Performers in Field Events: Kasey Savage and Diarmuid O'ConnorÂ
Men's High Point Performer of the Meet: Kasey Savage (18.5)Â
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Cross Country / Track
/ Men's Cross Country / Track
/ Men's Cross Country / Track
/ Men's Cross Country / Track
/ Women's Cross Country / Track
/ Men'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
/ Women's Cross Country / Track
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