WASHINGTON – The Georgetown women's cross country team came in at No. 25 in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) preseason poll, while the men's team is tabbed No. 30. The Hoyas open the 2018 campaign at the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational on Friday, Sept. 7, hosted by Penn State University in State College, Pa.
 
The Georgetown men's team is coming off a 2017 campaign where they captured the BIG EAST Cross Country Championship, winning its third-consecutive title. The Hoyas look to continue their conference dominance with a combination of a talented young core and several returning veteran leaders.
 
"It is exciting for our group to get some regional and national recognition the last couple of days," Head Men's Cross Country Coach Brandon Bonsey said. "I think our team is a lot better than people around the country realize and practice thus far has been an indication of that. We are looking forward to getting this season started and competing very soon."
 
Returning to the team are a trio of runners who were three of the five point scorers for the Blue & Gray at the BIG EAST Cross Country Championships. Reilly Bloomer (Eugene, Ore./South Eugene) finished fourth and earned First Team All-BIG EAST honors. Nick Wareham (Woodbury, Minn./Woodbury) finished seventh while also earning First Team All-BIG EAST Honors. Wareham also posted a top-20 finish at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Region Championships. Wareham closed the 2018 track season earning All-America honors in the 1,500-meter run. Lastly, Jack Van Scoter (Pasadena, Calif./Flintridge Prep) managed a 12th-place finish earning Second Team All-BIG EAST honors.
 
The men's team will look to hoist a fourth-consecutive BIG EAST Cross Country Championships crown in October. Providence College is the only BIG EAST institution to claim four-straight titles, winning in 1979, 1980, 1981 and 1982.
 
The women's team comes into the season tabbed No. 25 nationally and third in the Mid-Atlantic region behind familiar foes Penn State and Villanova who are both among the top 12.
 
The women's squad will look to its veterans who led the Hoyas to a top-three finish at the BIG EAST Cross Country Championships. Josette Norris (Tenafly, N.J./Tenafly), Martha MacDonald (Toronto, Ontario/Havergal College), and Kennedy Weisner (St. Mary's, Pa./Elk County Catholic), who all earned All-BIG EAST honors last fall, will be key contributors and leaders for the Blue & Gray this season.
 
"We are excited and honored to be ranked in the Top 25 in both the USTFCCCA Coaches Poll as well as the FloTrack Preseason rankings," Director of Track & Field / Cross Country Julie Culley said of the women's team. "November is always the goal and we've set our sights on qualifying for the NCAA Championships, but we will have to earn it every day, at every practice and every competition this season."
 
MacDonald is coming off a season where she took home bronze at the Pan American Cross Country Championships while competing for Canada. She was part of a Canadian podium sweep in the 6-kilometer U-20 race in San Salvador, El Salvador. MacDonald also qualified for the 2017 NCAA Cross Country Championships, where she finished 168th overall.
 
With a focus on November, GU will look to start off the season strong at the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational on Friday, Sept. 7, hosted by Penn State University in State College, Pa.