Ray Treacy's (Villierstown, Co. Waterford) Providence College women's teams have placed in the top 10 at the NCAA Championships 13 out of the last 14 years. They are ranked #8 in the most recent poll (20th October). Providence competed in their conference meet today - the Big East. The Big East women's race has 6 teams that have been ranked this season with defending champion Notre Dame ranked #7 in the poll along with Georgetown (#16), West Virginia (#25), Boston College (#30) and Villanova which has been ranked most of the season. Treacy's Providence team is led by one of the strongest 1-2 runners in the NCAA in Kim Smith (Auckland, New Zealand) and Sligo Mary Cullen. Cullen, a junior was an All-American at last year's Championships and was ranked 4th in Ireland in the 5,000m (15.56.96) and 5th in 3,000m (9.09.13) with only Irish Olympians ranked ahead of her! Also running for the Providence squad are Deirdre Byrne (Avoca, Co Wicklow) and Róisín Quinn from Waterford.

The Providence Friars men's team is ranked 20th and Treacy has a remarkable job as this year's team lacks the marquee runner that they have in the past like Keith Kelly, Mark Carroll and John Treacy. In fact only one Irish runner is competing on this year's team - Pat Guidera (Clonmel, Co. Tipperary).

Marcus O'Sullivan's Villanova men's team goes into the goes into the Big East ranked #11.

The Providence College and Villanova's women and men's cross country teams participated in the Big East Conference Championship on Friday, October 31 at Van Cortlandt Park in Bronx, New York City. PC's Kim Smith won the women's individual title and set a course record in the event with a time of 20:01. Junior Dylan Wykes (Kingston, Ontario) was the top finisher for the Friar men's team with a fourth-place individual finish in a time of 24:44.

The PC women's team finished second (80 points) overall, while the men finished fourth (75 points) as a team.

Villanova Wildcat senior Jon Fasulo (Whitehouse Station, New Jersey) won the men's individual title in 24.35, helping lead the defending champion Villanova men to a third place finish with 67 points. The Georgetown Hoyas won the team title with 29 points.

In the women's race, Smith became the sixth female runner in PC history to win the Big East crown and the first since Sara Dupre won it in 1998. Smith beat the previous course record set by Catherine Guyney of Boston College in 2001 by three seconds, as Guyney finished the championship that season in 20:04. Classmate Mary Cullen finished second in a time of 20:37 as PC captured the top two spots. Sophomore Fiona Crombie of Christchurch, New Zealand, (21st - 21:55), junior Deirdre Byrne of Avoca, Ireland (25th - 22:00) and senior Lisa Cappello (31st - 22:20) also scored for the Friars.

During the 2002 season, Providence finished fourth at the Big East Championship. Notre Dame won the women's team title with 59 points.

In the men's race, Wykes was the only Friar to finish in the top-ten (fourth, 24:44) en route to a fourth-place team finish. Jonathan Fasulo of Villanova won the individual title with a time of 24:35. Junior Patrick Moulton (Pelham, N.H.) finished 11th for the Friars in a time of 24:57. Junior Patrick Guidera (18th - 25:18), graduate-student Tim Curran of Northboro, Mass. (19th - 25:20) and senior Jamie Carmichael of Windsor, Vt. (23rd - 25:38) also scored for Providence. Georgetown won the team title with 29 points.

The Providence men and women's teams return to action on November 15 at the NCAA Northeast Regional Championship at Franklin Park in Boston, Massachusetts. Irish Runner.com will be on hand to cover the meet. Villanova's men compete in the Mid-Atlantic Regional in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania.