Oct. 27, 2005

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The 16th-ranked Providence College women's cross country team and the men's team will compete at the BIG EAST Championships on Friday, October 28 at Van Cortlandt Park in Bronx, N.Y. The women's 6K race will begin at 12:30 p.m., while the men's 8K race will start at 1:10 p.m.

The Providence women will aim for their second consecutive BIG EAST title and their fifth overall. In 2004, Providence had five runners finish in the top 20, including Kim Smith (Auckland, New Zealand) and Mary Cullen (Sligo, Ireland), who placed first and second, respectively, as the Friars captured the title at Franklin Park in Boston, Mass. Smith became the fifth runner in the history of the BIG EAST Championships to win multiple titles. At the 2003 BIG EAST Championships, Smith's time of 20:01 set a course record at the BIG EAST Championships at Van Cortlandt Park.

This season's squad at the Championship will feature senior All-American Fiona Crombie (Christchurch, New Zealand), who placed fourth at the 2004 BIG EAST Championships. Crombie has been PC's top runner this season. She has finished in the top eight in three races, including a first-place finish at the Fordham Invitational (9/10) and most recently a fourth-place finish at the Penn State Invitational (10/15).

Providence also will have graduate Aine Hoban (Wakefield, England) and junior Meghan Owen (Danielson, Conn.). Most recently, Hoban and Owen placed 13th and 18th, respectively, leading the Friars to a second-place finish at the Penn State Invitational on October 15. The team also will feature graduate Katie Twarog (Albany, N.Y.), senior Ashley Jensen (Lincoln, R.I.), sophomores Michelle Childs (Cameron, Ontario) and Catherine Breaux (South Windsor, Conn.) as well as freshmen Katie DiCamillo (Garden City, N.Y.) and Sarah Morgan (Waikato, New Zealand).

The Providence men have captured a record 14 BIG EAST titles in the 26-year history of the event. PC's last victory at the BIG EAST Championships was in 2000. In addition, Providence has had eight BIG EAST individual champions, including Mark Carroll (1992, 1995) and Brendan Quinn (1980, 1982), who won the event twice. The last Friar to win the individual title was Adam Sutton (Preston, England) in 2002.

Last season, Providence finished third as Martin Fagan (Mullingar, Ireland) paced the way for the Friars with a fourth-place finish. Fagan has led the Friar squad this season in three of the meets that he has competed in. Most recently, Fagan captured the Penn State Invitational individual title on October 15 as the squad finished fifth. Sophomore Ahmed Haji (West Hartford, Conn.) placed second overall, while classmate Max Smith (Dunedin, New Zealand), who was competing in his first meet of the season, finished 13th.

Senior Joe Dionne (Oshawa, Ontario) returns to competition after suffering an injury at the Penn State Invitational. Dionne has competed in all four meets this season and has two top-10 finishes. PC's squad also will feature senior Liam Reale (Hospital, Ireland), juniors Matt Kinback (Shrewsbury, Mass.) as well as Nick Weidman (Sudbury, Mass.), sophomore Douglas Coffed (Norcross, Ga.) and freshman Richard Yeates (Dublin, Ireland).

Following the BIG EAST Championships, both the men's and women's teams will compete at the NCAA Northeast Regional Championships on Saturday, November 12 at Franklin Park in Boston, Mass.