WXC BIG EAST Championship Preview
10/25/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
"Our kids are excited and ready to go tomorrow," said head coach John Moon. "This is by far the deepest team I have had in a while and I think they are in a position to surprise some people around the conference."
For the first time since 2008, the conference meet returns to Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. Both races will kick-off on Friday morning as the women's 6,000 meter competition will begin at 11:00 a.m., followed by the men's 8,000 meter race at 11:50 a.m.
On the women's side, SHU will look to unseat four-time defending champions Villanova.
The Pirates will be more than familiar with their surroundings as they vie for the conference crown, having run at Van Cortlandt in each of the last seven seasons. Earlier this year, SHU took the course at VCP as part of the Metropolitan Championships and produced an effort that saw the women's team take sixth place, an improvement of five spots over their 2011 finish. Senior Hughnique Rolle (Nassau, Bahamas) (22nd overall) was the team's top finisher on the day.
"I think the area schools definitely have an advantage tomorrow," added Moon. "We've been there before, we know the course and running it in a meet is a lot different than a simple practice run."
Coming off a 15th place team finish at last year's championships, the Seton Hall women are poised to climb the team leaderboard in 2012. The squad has posted four collective top-three finishes in six meets this season and heads into the championship season coming off a 6K race at the Leopard Invitational that featured a number of landmark individual performances.
Rolle led the Pirates for the eighth consecutive event, finishing in 22:35.86 to place 27th. A personal-record at the 6,000 meter distance, the effort capped a regular season in which she not only led the team in every out, but posted four top-six finishes including a win at the Hofstra Brick Stone Run (9/8).
All season, Rolle has been at the head of a "core four" group of athletes that have been the engine behind the team's improvement. Along with Rolle, junior Nyala Eddings (Chicago, Ill.), sophomore Mary Migton (Ledgewood, N.J.) and freshman Amanda Quaglia (Reading, Pa.) have scored in every event to this point in the year.
At the Leopard Invite, the only 6K race the Pirates have entered prior to the BIG EAST meet, Eddings turned in a new personal-best time that bettered her previous mark by over 90 seconds. She has also registered two top-10 finishes of her own and placed behind only Rolle for the team on three occasions.
Seton Hall's leader at the 2011 BIG EAST Championship and in all but the final two meets of her freshman campaign; Migton has again been a major contributor SHU in every race this season. Despite being slowed by injury, the Ledgewood native has three second place team finishes to her credit. She also holds the highest individual finish by any Pirate not named Hughnique Rolle, coming in third overall at Hofstra.
Migton, Rolle and Eddings finished 1-2-3 for the team at last year's conference championship.
In her first collegiate season, Amanda Quaglia has made an immediate impact. She has aided the team's ascension with her consistency, running to four top-20 finishes, highlighted by a career best ninth-place effort at Hofstra. Not only has Quaglia scored in every meet, but she has posted a top-four time on the team on each occasion as well.
"Hughnique has been great for us all season and has really found her stride as a senior," said Moon. "When Mary is healthy, and she has been getting closer each week, she gives us a tough 1-2 punch at the top of the lineup. Add in Nyala and Amanda and this is the strongest top-four we have had in a long time."
Junior Kristen May (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and freshman Alex Ryan (Aurora, Colo.) have combined to round out SHU's scoring efforts this season. May and Ryan have split the six scoring opportunities evenly so far.
Though she is listed as a junior, May is in just her second year competing for The Hall. She will toe the starting line at the conference championship riding a three-meet scoring streak. After scoring for the first time in her career by finishing 35th at the Asics-Embry Riddle Classic, May has followed up with two more top-five team finishes in the last two events. Last time out, she improved her career-best 6K time by a margin greater than three and a half minutes.
Ryan burst onto the scene for the Pirates earlier this season, scoring in the first three meets of her maiden campaign. Those performances included top-20 overall finishes in consecutive outings at Hofstra and the UMES Cappy Anderson Invitational. On two occasions since her initial streak, Ryan has placed sixth on the team, just outside the scoring group.
"Krissy [May] and Alex can have a tremendous impact for us at this meet," Moon said. "They have been running together all season and if they run their races, they can close the gap and really put us in position for a strong team finish."
Sophomore Louisa Ozimek (Strongsville, Ohio) and senior Marigot Lustyk (Honeoye Falls, N.Y.) finished fourth and fifth respectively for Seton Hall at the 2011 BIG EAST Championship and both head into tomorrow's race fresh off career-best 6K marks at the Leopard Invitational.
Another senior, Christina Chafos (South Amboy, N.J.), also ran her fastest 6,000 meter time for Seton Hall at the meet.
"Christina has been running well and I could see her sneaking into our top-five tomorrow," added Moon. "She has been knocking on the door and she has the ability to put up that kind of time for us."
"I am very pleased with how our team has looked in training," Moon continued. "Even with Mary still rounding into form, I wouldn't be surprised if our top-six girls all ran PRs tomorrow."
Coming off one of the most successful regular seasons in recent history, coach Moon and the Pirates are eager to put their improved form on display on the conference's biggest stage.
"These kids have worked extremely hard all season," said Moon. "I am proud of them and it has been rewarding for both me and the team to see it payoff with our results. Regardless of our finish tomorrow, I know we are going to be able to walk away knowing our team gave it all we had. Those other teams are really going to have to come ready to compete if they want to outrun us."
