For two and a half miles it seemed as if the race for the women’s individual Big East championship would come down to the wire. Heading into the final secluded section of the course, spectators might have anticipated that the lead pack of four, including Georgetown senior Melissa Grelli, would still be intact. Those looking for a close finish, however, were to be disappointed as Grelli emerged all alone, crossing the line unchallenged for the individual title and a course-record time of 20:05.
Grelli, battling with elite runners from Providence and West Virginia, made her move a little over a mile from the finish and continued to build a commanding lead over the last section.
“Melissa kept her composure really well with that group of runners. It was outstanding how well she finished,” women’s Coach Chris Miltenberg said.
For Grelli, winning the Big East felt great but came largely unexpected.
“I just went in there and did my best, but I never would have imagined that I would win,” she admitted.
Behind Grelli’s performance, the women took third place overall, finishing behind champion West Virginia and runner-up Providence. Miltenberg conceded that the season-long strategy of starting conservative may have put the team in too deep a hole.
“We could have started a little more aggressive earlier. … That is one thing we could have done a better job of,” iltenberg said.
In the third-place finish, the team ran well overall, including fifth-year senior Liz Maloy and junior Lise Ogrodnick, who finished in 12th and 13th places respectively, and joined Grelli on the all-conference team. Sophomores Renee Tomlin, 31st place, and Lauren Gregory, 35th place, rounded out the Hoyas’ top five.
For the men’s squad, three and a half miles in, this year looked like the year they’d snap the three-year-long streak of runner-up finishes at the Big East championships. The Hoyas couldn’t quite hold on, however, and finished five points shy of first-place Louisville.
Leading the men was junior Andrew Bumbalough, who suffered a strained hamstring with a little less than a mile left but was still able to hold on for an impressive fifth place, and a spot on the all-conference team.
“Andrew’s a very talented and a very tough competitor. I thought that was a great performance,” men’s Coach Patrick Henner said.
Joining Bumbalough on the all-conference team were senior Matt Debole, who placed seventh, and junior Levi Miller, who, having recovered from an early season injury, joined the team for the first time and finished in ninth place. Senior Justin Scheid and junior Mike Krisch, 16th and 23rd places respectively, rounded out the men’s top five.
The men, who have had their sights set on the Big East title since the onset of the year, refused to be content with their second-place finish.
“We were disappointed with second place, and I know that is kind of hard to understand, but the main goal going into the weekend was to win,” DeBole said.
With close to a mile and a half left in the race, sophomore Sandy Roberts looked to be the difference maker as he stood in 13th place. But having “pressed a little too hard,” as Henner put it, he was forced to drop out of the race.
Despite the shortcomings, Henner stressed his confidence in Roberts and the rest of the squad saying, “I’m confident Sandy’s going to run very well at Regionals and NCAAs, where I think we could be a very, very good team.”
The men are looking to bounce back with a win at the id-Atlantic Regional in order to spring them into Nationals.
“We can’t get too down on ourselves. I still have one hundred percent confidence in all of my teammates that we can perform at the highest national level of competition,” added DeBole.
The women also look to build upon their performance, counting on the steady improvement of seniors Maloy, Joanna Rodgers and Maggie Infeld, each of whom ran just her second race of the season this past weekend. Looking ahead to Regionals on Nov. 10, the women hope to lock down a guaranteed trip to Nationals.
