Providence Cross-Country Teams To Compete At The Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational

Sept. 27, 2018

MADISON, WIS. – The Providence College men's and women's cross-country teams will travel to Madison, Wis., to compete at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational on Friday (Sept. 28). The Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational is one of the most competitive cross-country meets in the nation. The Friars will toe the line against multiple nationally and regionally ranked teams.

Leading the charge for the Friars will be junior Abbey Wheeler (Elmira, N.Y.). Wheeler is coming off a dominant performance at the Coast-To-Coast Battle in Beantown (Sept. 21), where she finished as the top individual in 17:09.7 for 5k. Wheeler placed 67^th(20:56.3) at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational last year and looks to make a huge improvement this Friday. She is looking to be a threat in the competitive field.

Joining Wheeler will be the trio of sophomore Maria Coffin (Annapolis, Md.) and graduate students Regan Rome (Dalla, Pa.) and Tessa Barret (Waverly, Pa.). Like the past two races this season, Coffin and Rome will be side-by-side in the early stages of the race and look to have an impact over the last mile. Barrett, who ran as an undergraduate at Penn State, is making her Providence cross-country debut and looks to make an immediate contribution to the Friars' top-seven.

The women will look for strong runs from junior Alex DeCicco (Sachem, N.Y.), sophomore Hanna Johnston (Thunder Bay, Ontario) and freshman Hannah McReavy (Colorado Springs, Colo.). The three underclassman will try to improve on their performances from the previous races this season.

Of the top-30 ranked teams in the nation, 15 are scheduled to race in Madison. Out of the 15 teams, seven are ranked in the top-10.

Coming off a 32^nd.place performance at a competitive Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown (Sept. 21), sophomore David Rosas (Chestnut Ridge, N.Y.) will lead the Friars on the men's side. Rosas placed 205^th(25:14.0) last year at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational and looks to improve his time and overall place.

Juniors Liam Harris (Douglas, County Cork, Ireland) and Peter Rindfuss (Hamburg, N.Y.) will step up to the line on Friday. Harris and Rindfuss were the second and third runners for the Friars and to look to be closer to Rosas over the 8k race in Madison.

Senior Austin Scola (Medfield, Mass.) and junior Ian Steller (Providence, R.I.) will join Rosas, Harris and Rindfuss. These two will each be aiming to finish in the Providence top-five.

Sophomores Marcelo Rocha (Peabody, Mass.) and Ryan Gallagher (Briarcliff Manor, N.Y.) also return for Providence. Last time out, these two men finished in the top-five at the UNH Dual Meet and finished within six seconds of the winner.

Of the top-30 ranked teams in the nation, 17 are scheduled to race in Madison. Out of the 17 teams, six are ranked in the top-ten.

The women's 6k championship race will go off at 1:20 p.m. (ET), followed by the men's 8k championship race at 2:00 p.m. (ET).

-GO FRIARS!-

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Players Mentioned

Maria Coffin

Alex DeCicco

Hanna Johnston

Hannah McReavy

Regan Rome

Abbey Wheeler