St. John's University Athletics
Jim Hurt Releases 2016 Cross Country Schedule
8/23/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
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2016 Cross Country Schedule
Downloadable 2016 Cross Country Schedule (PDF)
QUEENS, N.Y. - St. John's cross country and track & field head coach Jim Hurt released the 2016 Red Storm Cross Country schedule on Tuesday, a schedule that is highlighted by five trips to the iconic Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, and the Red Storm's hosting of the BIG EAST Championships in October.
The Red Storm will also host the SJU XC Fall Festival at Cunningham Park in Queens for the second consecutive year. Coach Hurt, who enters his 28th year at the helm, prepares his roster for a challenging eight race campaign that runs through the end of November.
"We are looking forward to a great cross country season from our young team and have lined up a quality schedule that culminates with the BIG EAST, NCAA Regional, and ECAC Championships all at Van Cortlandt Park, our home course," said Hurt.
The season kicks off on Saturday, Sept. 10, with the Red Storm's first trip to Van Cortlandt Park, as the Johnnies will compete in the 36th annual Fordham Fiasco/Ed Joyce Memorial XC Meet. Coach Hurt and his squad last competed in this 5K race in 2005, where the Red Storm finished 12th out of 19 teams.
"We open the season Sept., 10th at the Fordham meet that honors Ed Joyce, a St. John's track & field alumnus and long time Fordham Coach at Van Cortlandt Park," said Hurt.
The Johnnies will round out the September portion of its schedule with another New York Metropolitan area meet. On Saturday, Sept. 17, St. John's will run in the NYIT Invite on the NYIT Old Westbury campus. This is the inaugural running of the NYIT Invite.
Following a two week training break, St. John's will run in its first championship event of the 2016 slate. Coach Hurt's squad will return to Van Cortlandt Park, the "Mecca of American Cross Country," for the Metropolitan Championships (6K) on Friday, Oct. 7. At last year's race, Izzi Batt-Doyle, Stephanie Van Pelt and returning sophomore Antonia Howard led the Red Storm to a fifth-place team finish with three top-20 individual finishes.
On Sunday, Oct. 16, the Johnnies will look to continue its recent dominance of the team's home event, the SJU XC Fall Festival (4K) at Cunningham Park. Last season en route to a first-place team finish, seven Red Storm student-athletes claimed top-10 individual finishes including a top-three sweep by Batt-Doyle, Van Pelt and Howard.
St. John's remains close to home for the BIG EAST Championships on Friday, Oct. 28. The 6K race will be held at Van Cortlandt Park as the Johnnies play host to one of nation's premier cross country events. The Red Storm last hosted the BIG EAST Championships in 2012 at Van Cortlandt Park. Coach Hurt's squad will look to improve upon a ninth-place finish at last year's BIG EAST Championships.
The Red Storm will close its 2016 campaign with a trio of championship meets in November. The first of these championships is the NCAA Northeast Regional (6K), set for Friday, Nov. 11. Held at Van Cortlandt Park, the Red Storm will look to make qualifying bids for the NCAA Championships. This year's NCAA Championships are set for Saturday, Nov. 19, at the LaVern Gibson course in Terre Haute, Ind., and will be hosted by Indiana State.
Barring any qualifications to the NCAAs, the Red Storm will close out its cross country season with the ECAC Championships (6K) on Saturday, Nov. 19, at Van Cortlandt Park. Last season the Johnnies captured a ninth-place team finish thanks to All-EAST performances by Batt-Doyle and Van Pelt.
"The Metropolitan Championships and our SJU XC meet will have our team well prepared for the BIG EAST, the NCAA Regional, and the ECACs, all at historic Van Cortlandt Park," said Hurt.
Keep up to date on all St. John's cross country news by following on Twitter @StJohnsXCTF and by using the hashtag #stjohnsxc. To be added to the St. John's women's cross country fans e-mail list send a message to Adam.mcKillop15@stjohns.edu with the subject: "St. John's women's XC e-mail."
Players Mentioned
