The UConn women’s cross country team will travel to Leesburg, Virginia., on Friday, Nov. 1, to compete at the Big East Cross Country Championships presented by JEEP.
The Huskies had all of Thursday to practice as a team to prepare for Friday’s 6,000 meter run, which will take place at 10 a.m. and will be followed by the men’s 8,000 meter at 11:50 a.m.
Friday’s race will be the sixth of the year for the Huskies, ending a season that for some started on Aug. 31 in Poughkeepsie at the Marist Invitational.
There are a handful of names to keep an eye on for the Huskies, including talented seniors Chloe Thomas and Jenna Zydanowicz, as well as a bevy of underclassmen waiting to have an impact, such as sophomores Maddie Relyea, Chloe Trudel and Calista Mayer. Other names, such as Rachael Woodruff, Caroline Towle, Malin Rahm and Loghan Hughes can all have an impact on the race.
Thomas enters Friday’s race as a top-ranked runner across the conference, setting two course records across three meets this season, finishing 5th out of 250 runners most recently at the Pre-Nationals Meet in Madison, Wisconsin. Thomas enters the race with a personal best of 19:11.8, which would have won last season’s race by over 45 seconds.
Zydanowicz will look to continue her phenomenal senior season, placing fourth and fifth in her first two meets and setting a season’s best of 20:05.5 in Madison two weeks ago.
Georgetown looks to defend its four consecutive Big East titles with a win on Friday, as the Hoyas enter as the No. 1 ranked team in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Georgetown returns last season’s meet winner in Chloe Scrimgeour, who crossed first at a time of 19:59.72. The Hoyas most recently won the Princeton Fall Classic over conference rival Providence by a narrow but decisive margin of 59-65.
Other top Big East teams to watch are Villanova (No. 4 in the Mid-Atlantic Region) and Providence (No.1 in the Northeast Region) — both squads can bring home the crown. Providence’s Kimberley May is among the top runners in the conference, most recently running a time of 19:16.1 in her Princeton Fall Classic victory.
The Big East is celebrating its 45th cross country birthday on Friday with a meet that should include many tight finishes amongst top-tier national runners.