Completed Event: Men's Track and Field at BIG EAST Championships on February 27, 2026 ,
Men's Track and Field
at BIG EAST Championships
Final
Providence College Athletics
Men's Track and Field
Catarina Rocha
- Title:
- Head Coach (Women's Cross Country) / Assistant Coach (Track)
- Email:
- cbrazroc@providence.edu
- Phone:
- (401) 865-2402
Catarina Braz-Rocha embarks on her sixth season on the coaching staff at Providence College and her first as Head Coach of the Women's Cross Country team. Braz-Rocha also will serve as Assistant Coach of Men's Cross Country and Men's and Women's Track and Field teams following the retirement of longtime Director of Cross Country and Track and Field Ray Treacy.
During her first year on the coaching staff in 2021, Rocha helped the women’s cross country team qualify for the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2017. Rocha also has helped the women's cross country team qualify for the 2022 NCAA Championship. She was instrumental in coaching the 2022 BIG EAST Cross Country Individual Champion, Jane Buckley. In 2023 with Rocha’s support, the Friars had a record breaking first-place finish in the 4x1500-meter relay at Penn Relays.
The program had a successful 2023-2024 season, beginning with another qualification for the NCAA Women’s Cross Country Championships. Rocha assisted in coaching the DMR team (May, Flockhart, O’Neill, Fenerty) that placed sixth at the NCAA Indoor Championships. In the 2024 outdoor season, Kimberley May and Shannon Flockhart represented Providence at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 1,500 meters with a second-place finish from May and a sixth-place finish from Flockhart. Rocha has helped coach the program to eight BIG EAST Individual Champions in indoor and outdoor track and 12 All-American Honors.
The 2024-25 season was another standout year for the Friars. In the fall, the women's cross country team qualified for the 2024 NCAA Cross Country Championship and placed third overall, the program's seventh top-three finish all-time and its best result since winning the national title in 2013, a team Rocha was on. Rocha was influential in coaching six BIG EAST champions throughout the season. Additionally, the women’s DMR team (Flockhart, Fenerty, O’Neill, May) finished third at the NCAA Indoor Championships after claiming the BIG EAST title for the second year in a row. At the 2025 Penn Relays, the Friars won the 4x1,500 Championship of America in a program record time of 16:59.65, the third-fastest time in collegiate history. Four Friars qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, the program’s highest total since 1998. May led the way with a First Team All-America finish in the 1,500 meters (6th), while Millard (5,000 meters) and O’Neill (800 meters) were named Second Team All-Americans. Flockhart rounded out her season with All-America Honorable Mention recognition after competing in the 1,500-meter semifinals.
In 2025-26, Rocha helped guide the women's cross country team to its fifth consecutive NCAA Championship appearance and 33rd in program history after the Friars finished second among 37 teams at the NCAA Northeast Regional. During the indoor season, Maeve O'Neill enjoyed one of the finest seasons in program history, setting school records in the 600, 800 and 1,000 meters while lowering her own 800-meter record to 2:00.33, the ninth-fastest time in NCAA indoor history. O'Neill captured the BIG EAST title in the 800 meters, helped lead the Friars to the indoor 4x800-meter relay championship and earned BIG EAST Most Outstanding Female Track Performer honors before collecting Second Team All-America recognition at the NCAA Indoor Championships. She later advanced to the semifinals of the 800 meters at the World Athletics Indoor Championships, becoming the first Friar to compete at the World Championships since 2019. O’Neill went on to win two more BIG EAST titles in the outdoor season (800 meters, 4x800 relay) and was named BIG EAST Most Outstanding Female Track Perfomer again. During the outdoor season, the Friars won a program-record nine BIG EAST track and field titles, highlighted on the women's side by championships from O'Neill (800 meters), Anna Gardiner (5,000 meters), Gabby Schmidt (10,000 meters) and the 4x800-meter relay team. O'Neill qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, where she earned Second Team All-America honors in the 800 meters.
Rocha, a 2017 graduate, ran under Ray Treacy during her tenure as a Friar. As a freshman, she was a scoring member of the cross-country team that won the BIG EAST and NCAA titles in 2013. Over the next four years, Rocha was a two-time, Cross-Country All-American and four-time, BIG EAST Champion. She was the Providence College Athlete of the Year in 2018 and was the BIG EAST Conference's nominee for the 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year Award. After graduation she worked as a volunteer coach with the program while she completed her Master's Degree in Counseling.
During her first year on the coaching staff in 2021, Rocha helped the women’s cross country team qualify for the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2017. Rocha also has helped the women's cross country team qualify for the 2022 NCAA Championship. She was instrumental in coaching the 2022 BIG EAST Cross Country Individual Champion, Jane Buckley. In 2023 with Rocha’s support, the Friars had a record breaking first-place finish in the 4x1500-meter relay at Penn Relays.
The program had a successful 2023-2024 season, beginning with another qualification for the NCAA Women’s Cross Country Championships. Rocha assisted in coaching the DMR team (May, Flockhart, O’Neill, Fenerty) that placed sixth at the NCAA Indoor Championships. In the 2024 outdoor season, Kimberley May and Shannon Flockhart represented Providence at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 1,500 meters with a second-place finish from May and a sixth-place finish from Flockhart. Rocha has helped coach the program to eight BIG EAST Individual Champions in indoor and outdoor track and 12 All-American Honors.
The 2024-25 season was another standout year for the Friars. In the fall, the women's cross country team qualified for the 2024 NCAA Cross Country Championship and placed third overall, the program's seventh top-three finish all-time and its best result since winning the national title in 2013, a team Rocha was on. Rocha was influential in coaching six BIG EAST champions throughout the season. Additionally, the women’s DMR team (Flockhart, Fenerty, O’Neill, May) finished third at the NCAA Indoor Championships after claiming the BIG EAST title for the second year in a row. At the 2025 Penn Relays, the Friars won the 4x1,500 Championship of America in a program record time of 16:59.65, the third-fastest time in collegiate history. Four Friars qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, the program’s highest total since 1998. May led the way with a First Team All-America finish in the 1,500 meters (6th), while Millard (5,000 meters) and O’Neill (800 meters) were named Second Team All-Americans. Flockhart rounded out her season with All-America Honorable Mention recognition after competing in the 1,500-meter semifinals.
In 2025-26, Rocha helped guide the women's cross country team to its fifth consecutive NCAA Championship appearance and 33rd in program history after the Friars finished second among 37 teams at the NCAA Northeast Regional. During the indoor season, Maeve O'Neill enjoyed one of the finest seasons in program history, setting school records in the 600, 800 and 1,000 meters while lowering her own 800-meter record to 2:00.33, the ninth-fastest time in NCAA indoor history. O'Neill captured the BIG EAST title in the 800 meters, helped lead the Friars to the indoor 4x800-meter relay championship and earned BIG EAST Most Outstanding Female Track Performer honors before collecting Second Team All-America recognition at the NCAA Indoor Championships. She later advanced to the semifinals of the 800 meters at the World Athletics Indoor Championships, becoming the first Friar to compete at the World Championships since 2019. O’Neill went on to win two more BIG EAST titles in the outdoor season (800 meters, 4x800 relay) and was named BIG EAST Most Outstanding Female Track Perfomer again. During the outdoor season, the Friars won a program-record nine BIG EAST track and field titles, highlighted on the women's side by championships from O'Neill (800 meters), Anna Gardiner (5,000 meters), Gabby Schmidt (10,000 meters) and the 4x800-meter relay team. O'Neill qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, where she earned Second Team All-America honors in the 800 meters.
Rocha, a 2017 graduate, ran under Ray Treacy during her tenure as a Friar. As a freshman, she was a scoring member of the cross-country team that won the BIG EAST and NCAA titles in 2013. Over the next four years, Rocha was a two-time, Cross-Country All-American and four-time, BIG EAST Champion. She was the Providence College Athlete of the Year in 2018 and was the BIG EAST Conference's nominee for the 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year Award. After graduation she worked as a volunteer coach with the program while she completed her Master's Degree in Counseling.
Friday, April 12
