St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
BIG EAST Championships
Cross Country Finishes Ninth at BIG EAST Championships
10/31/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
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BIG EAST XC Championship History
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2015 Schedule
(Oct. 31, 2015) - Competing against a bevy of nationally-ranked talent on a brisk morning in Mason, Ohio, the St. John's cross country team finished ninth overall at the 2015 BIG EAST Championships hosted by Xavier on Saturday. The Red Storm set five new personal-best times on the 6K course at the Golf Center at Kings Island.
"Our ladies came to run today, which resulted in some great personal-best performances," said Head Coach Jim Hurt. "They started off quick and stayed strong throughout the entire race."
St. John's tallied a total of 245 team points and averaged 22:06 on the 6K course, improving by 26 team points from last year's championship in Carmel, Ind. The Red Storm held off 10th-place Seton Hall by more than 75 team points and a minute of average time.
As has been the norm this season, Izzi Batt-Doyle, Stephanie Van Pelt and Antonia Howard led the way for the Red Storm, finishing as the top three Red Storm runners. Running in her first 6K of the season, Batt-Doyle set a new personal-best time of 20:49.3, just over a minute off the pace of race winner Sarah Collins of Providence, to finish 29th overall. Fellow Australian teammate Howard also ran in her first 6K of the season, and the first of her St. John's career, covering the course in 22.14.3 to take 62nd overall. S. Van Pelt ran in between her two Australian teammates, covering the 6K course in a new personal-best time of 21.28.2 to finish 42nd overall.
"Izzi and Stephanie battled some of the best cross country runners in the nation and our freshmen also got some great experience today," said Hurt. "Tiffany, Marlow and Melissa also ran exceptional races this morning. We look forward to continued improvement at the NCAA Regional Championships in two weeks," said Hurt.
Rounding out the scoring effort for St. John's was Tiffany Evanego and Marlow Schulz. Evanego, a senior from Staten Island, N.Y., crossed the finish line in a new personal-best time of 22:57.4 for 6K to take 74th place. She ran most of the race alongside her sophomore teammate Schulz, who recorded a 75th place finish overall in a time of 22:59.3. This was the first 6K race of Schulz's career, and just her third cross country race ever at St. John's.
Competing in her second career BIG EAST Championship race, Melissa Hidalgo set a new personal-best time of 23:22.6 for 6K to finish 79th overall. Earlier this season, the sophomore had shattered her previous personal-best time in 6K by almost three minutes at the Princeton Inter-Regional Invitational.
Next up for the Red Storm was senior Michelle Van Pelt, who covered the 6K course in a time of 24:19.3 for 83rd overall. She ran alongside freshman teammate Shannon Page, who crossed the finish line in a new personal-best time of 24:56.4 for 84th place. Rounding out the effort for St. John's was senior Veronica Thompson, who crossed the finish line in 25:46.4 for 88th place.
Providence captured the 2015 team BIG EAST Championship after scoring a field-low of 26 points and placing all five scoring runners in the top-15, including four runners in the top-six. Providence junior Sarah Collins prevailed as the individual BIG EAST champion, pacing the course in a time of 19:32.1. Georgetown was the team runner-up with 54 points, followed by Villanova with 86 points. Championship-host Xavier finished fourth amongst all teams with a team score of 124.
Up Next
The Red Storm will travel to Franklin Park in Boston, Mass., in two weeks to participate in the NCAA Northeast Regional Championships on Saturday, Nov. 14.
Players Mentioned
