Men's Results  |  Women's Results 

The Butler men captured the 2023 BIG EAST Cross Country title Saturday morning, showcasing the team's depth by placing its five scorers among the top 14 spots in the field. The Bulldogs, ranked No. 30 in the most recent USTFCCCA national poll, edged No. 10 Villanova by a score of 36-42 to claim the BIG EAST title.
 
For the Butler men, this marks the program's third BIG EAST title over the last four championships. Butler's men won the BIG EAST team trophy in the spring of 2021 (pushed back from the fall of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic) and 2021. Villanova won the BIG EAST men's team title in 2022.
 
Florian Le Pallec led the Bulldogs, finishing third in a time of 25:05.45 on the Wayne Dannehl Course in Kenosha, Wis. He was followed closely by William Zegarski and Matthew Forrester in fourth and fifth, respectively.
 
That trio, along with Will Minnette (tenth), Jesse Hamlin (14^th) and Jack McMahon (16^th), each earned All-BIG EAST honors for their performance. Forrester and Hamlin also were All-BIG EAST in 2022.
 
Villanova's Liam Murphy claimed the individual title in a time of 24:46.33, creating separation at about 6,000 meters. His teammate Haftu Strintzos was the runner-up. However, as Butler was able to place all five scorers among the Top 14, that was able to overcome the remainder of the Wildcats' scoring five that placed seventh, 15^th and 17^th.
 
COACH MATT ROE ON THE BUTLER MEN: "Our guys believed they could win but the focus was on how we were going to execute our race. We've been training well all season and we had great momentum coming out of an off day at Nuttcombe (Oct. 13) as strange as that may sound. It was a total team effort."
 
THE BUTLER MEN (8,530 meters):
3) Florian Le Pallec, 25:05.45
4) William Zegarski, 25:09.64
5) Matthew Forrester, 25:09.86
10) Will Minnette, 25:37.25
14) Jesse Hamlin, 25:43.93
16) Jack McMahon, 25:46.69
23) David Slapak, 26:09.67
24) William Cuthbertson, 26:15.04
28) Martin Kovacech, 26:24.58
52) Sean Robertson, 27:26.71
 
THE MEN'S TEAM SCORES:
1) No. 30 Butler, 36 points
2) No. 10 Villanova, 42
3) No. 29 Georgetown, 71
4) Providence, 75
5) Creighton, 168
6) DePaul, 172
7) Xavier, 186
8) Marquette, 234
9) Seton Hall, 280
 
Women's Race
 
On the women's side, Elsa Rusthoven and Wiktoria Klebowska each picked up All-BIG EAST honors. Rusthoven was Butler's top finisher, placing 13^th in a time of 21:01.70. Klebowska was 17^th.
 
As a team, the Bulldogs finished fifth, matching their 2022 result among the 11-team field.
 
Chloe Scrimgeour took the individual title, leading No. 3 Georgetown to the team championship. The Hoyas placed all five of their scorers among the top 10 positions.
 
COACH MATT ROE ON THE BUTLER WOMEN: "Our women ran fantastic! Their execution and toughness as a unit was tremendous. I love the momentum we have going into regionals."
 
THE BUTLER WOMEN (6K):
13) Elsa Rusthoven, 21:01.70
17) Wiktoria Klebowska, 21:14.50
21) Abby Olson, 21:28.76
28) Ashlyn Minton, 21:45.77
43) Abby Fostveit, 22:23.60
60) Renate Toldo, 23:02.87
61) Morgan Werner, 23:07.22
70) Ashley Learn, 23:31.34
 
THE WOMEN'S TEAM SCORES:
1) No. 3 Georgetown, 28 points
2) Providence, 56
3) Villanova, 80
4) Connecticut, 89
5) Butler, 118
6) DePaul, 181
7) Xavier, 200
8) Creighton, 228
9) St. John's, 275
10) Marquette, 302
11) Seton Hall, 314

UP NEXT: The NCAA Great Lakes Regional will be contested in Verona, Wis., on Friday, Nov. 10.