Live Results | Championship Information

The Boston University men's and women's cross country teams will compete at the Patriot League Championships on Saturday at Lehigh's Goodman Campus Cross Country Course.

The Terrier men will race first at 11 a.m., followed by the women at noon. BU took third on the men's side a year ago, while the women placed sixth in 2016. Both teams will be familiar with the terrain, having already competed at Lehigh this year at the Paul Short Run, which head coach Paul Spangler says gives the Terriers a little edge over some other teams. However, with several strong teams competing for both the men and the women's titles, the Terriers will have to step up their game.

"The Patriot League is pretty competitive," Spangler said. "It's a conference that has gotten a lot better in the recent years and has made a name for itself on the national stage, not only in cross country but in track as well. "We've got to be ready to go."

The Terrier men enter the weekend ranked fifth in the Northeast Region by the USTFCCCA, their highest ranking in seven years. After battling illness at the Paul Short Run, BU bounced back with a strong performance at Pre-Nationals on Oct. 14.

"We're coming off a good meet at Pre-Nats, so I think they're in a good spot mentally going into this weekend," Spangler said. "Certainly their goal is to win, but it's going to be a tough meet with Army West Point and Navy being the favorites. It's anybody's race between those three. It's going to be a good meet."
 
Two Terriers that were especially terrific at Pre-Nationals were sophomore Paul Luevano and junior Alexander Seal. Luevano, the reigning Patriot League Rookie of the Year, finished 22nd with a personal-best 8K time of 23:31.8. Seal, who was seventh at last year's conference meet, also had a PR at Pre-Nationals with a time of 23:59.1, good for 47th.

"They, along with the entire team, rebounded really well off of Paul Short," Spangler said. "For them, especially Paul and Alex, to bounce back at Pre-Nats, obtain huge PRs and mix it up with some of the best runners in the country, certainly gives them confidence going into this weekend that they're ready to roll."

While Luevano and Seal will be favorites to claim the individual title, the Terriers' success as a team will depend on their depth. Sophomores Brett Davidson and Greg Pelose, along with senior Cullin Burdett both finished in the top 30 at last year's championship event, while junior Johnny Kemps was 36th last year. All four harriers have run well this season, with Pelose turning in a PR on this course at Paul Short and both Burdett and Kemps having recorded PRs at Pre-Nationals.

"Whether we finish first or third, it's a team effort," Spangler said. "You're only as good as your fifth runner. Those guys have to step up. And as well as they did at Pre-Nats, they've got to get to the next level for us to reach our goal because Army and Navy, American and Lehigh, they're not just going to hand over the team title to us. We have to go in and fight and every single one of those guys has to put their best foot forward. If they do that, we can't be disappointed with the result, whatever it is."

For the women, depth will be key for the Terriers as they look to improve upon last year's showing. BU ran well at the Paul Short Run earlier this year, finishing fifth in a 25-team field.

"They have made great strides this year, Spangler said. "We've had women PR by over a minute for a 6K. They ran very well at Paul Short. The advantage for us on the women's side is that we have a lot of depth. There's not a lot of distance between our 1 and 5, so our spread's pretty small, which is ideal. They've run the course and know what it's like, so I think they're in a good spot mentally and physically going into this weekend."

BU will be looking to junior Courtney Breiner to once again shine on this stage. She was 12th at last year's meet and finished 14th at the Paul Short Run earlier this year in her first race of the season.

"Courtney ran really well at Paul Short and has done a good job at managing a nagging injury. "She's a competitor and will go our and compete this weekend."

Senior Paige Ferrucci is coming off a strong showing at Pre-Nationals, having led the Terriers with a personal-best time of 22:40.57, good for 100th overall. Prior to that, she eclipsed her 6K personal best the race before with a time of 22:40.8 at the Paul Short Run. Sophomore Abigail Gugel (22:18.3) and junior Elin Wolker (22:23.8) both ran PRs at Paul Short, as did freshman Laura Parkinson (23:16.7).

"For us to come out with a satisfying result, we have to have some women step up," Spangler said. "We've got seven or eight runners that can do that."

In addition to racing for a conference title, the Terriers will also be competing with Holy Cross for two Turnpike Trophy points. BU currently leads the season-long competition, 3-0.