WASHINGTON – The Georgetown University women's cross country team captured its sixth-straight BIG East Championship on Friday at Mahoney State Park. The No. 10 Hoyas now join Villanova (1989-94) as the only programs in BIG EAST history to achieve this feat. Georgetown's Melissa Riggins was the individual champion of the 6K race, earning her second individual title of the season and securing the program's fourth individual title in the past six years at the BIG EAST Championships. The Georgetown men placed second in the 8K championship race with four runners placing in the top 10.

ON THE RECORD
"We're truly proud of the effort from both teams competing at the Big East Cross Country Championships today in Omaha. Our Men ran well and competed tremendously as a team in securing the runner-up spot, losing to a Butler team that is very good and a top 10 team in the country. What can I say about our women…six in a row is an achievement beyond measure; being able to pull that off in the Big East Conference is no easy feat. The icing on the cake is having Melissa Riggins as an individual champion! Congrats to Coach Baker & Coach Bonsey getting their squads ready to compete; looking forward to what's to come for the rest of this 2025 cross country postseason." - Director of Cross Country Alton McKenzie
 
"The competition was great - Villanova and Providence really came to run and had us in a tough spot through 3k. Our group stayed composed and executed a great back-half. It's been overwhelming to hear from so many of the gals today that started and sustained this run of 6 championships; they've all contributed so much to the program, and their spirit lives in this current team. We're grateful for their recent efforts, and all of the parent and, critically, alumni support to make this possible. Riggins was really great from the start; she did as little as required to stay in the hunt and powered home the last 1k to take the win, joining three of her graduated teammates as individual winners. That's quite a legacy they've passed on and she's continued. Justema is incredibly dangerous in the last 2k of races, so her third place shows how well she's translating a burning finish to higher and higher levels. Nerurkar is looking super strong and getting better and better at managing those really dark moments in a race; she was excellent today with even more room to grow. Tomkinson ran patient, asserting herself with Justema and then hanging tough at the end; her steadiness is even more impressive in light of a bit of adversity she's been managing like an elite athlete. Bell had a massive jump from a few weeks ago to close the scoring in 9th; I'm so proud of her growth mindset, and Cummings coming along to nab the last All-Big East spot. The group ran as great representatives of what it means to be a Hoya, to fight through tough times, and to be there for each other." -Women's Cross Country Head Coach Mitchell Baker.
 
"I thought that was our best team race of the season. Each of our top five ran really good races and it was good to see them work together. Butler is a great team so seeing us line up close to them is exciting. We always try to peak for the postseason, and this was a good first step." -Men's Cross Country Head Coach Brandon Bonsey.

 
WOMEN'S 6K CHAMPIONSHIP
 

• The Georgetown women won their sixth-straight BIG EAST Championship, a feat only achieved once before in conference history (by Villanova from 1989-94). This is also Georgetown's 11th title in program history.
• The team won decisively, scoring a low and impressive 24 points to second-place No. 14 Villanova's 42.
• Melissa Riggins won the 6K race, finishing with a time of 19:47.6 and five seconds ahead of second place. This was her second individual title of the season and Georgetown's fourth in the past six years at the championship.
• The Hoyas' top five runners all finished in the top 10 with Barrett Justema (3rd) crossing the finish line after Riggins, followed by Almi Nerurkar (4th), Charlotte Tomkinson (7th) and Charlotte Bell (9th).
• GU Point Scorers: Melissa Riggins, 19:47.6 [1]; Barrett Justema, 19:57.2 [3]; Almi Nerurkar, 20:00.4 [4]; Charlotte Tomkinson, 20:03.8 [7]; Charlotte Bell, 20:18.7 [9]
• Team Results (Top Five): 1. Georgetown, 24; 2. Villanova, 42; 3. Providence, 61; 4. Connecticut, 104; 5. Xavier, 164
• ALL BIG EAST First Team:  Melissa Riggins, Almi Nerurkar, Barrett Justema, Charlotte Tomkinson, Charlotte Bell
• All BIG EAST Second Team: Caroline Cummings
• BIG EAST Women's Coaching Staff of the Year: Mitchell Baker

 
 
MEN'S 8K CHAMPIONSHIP
 

• No. 30 Georgetown earned second place with 42 points behind No.14 Butler, as five Hoyas finished in the top 15, with four in the top 10.
• Birhanu Harriman captured a top-three finish with a time of 23:15.6, while MacCallum Rowe (7th) finished three seconds behind him with a time of 23:18.4.
• Luke Johnson (8th), Quinn Parrish (10th) and Alazar Teffra (14th) rounded out the point scorers for Georgetown.
• GU Point Scorers: Birhanu Harriman, 23:15.6 [3]; MacCallum Rowe, 23:18.4 [7]; Luke Johnson, 23:34.2 [8]; Quinn Parrish, 23:40.8 [10]; Alazar Teffra, 23:51.9 [14]
• Team Results (Top Five): 1. Butler, 26; 2. Georgetown, 42; 3. Villanova, 62; 4. Providence, 110; 5. DePaul, 163
• ALL BIG EAST First Team: Birhanu Harriman, MacCallum Rowe, Quinn Parrish, Luke Johnson
• All BIG EAST Second Team: Alazar Teffra

 
 
UP NEXT
The Hoyas return to action on November 14 for the NCAA Regionals in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.