Butler's William Zegarski raced to a runner-up finish at the 2026 BIG EAST Cross Country Championships Friday morning.
 
The championships were held at Pole Green Park in Mechanicsville, Va.
 
Zegarski narrowly missed out on defending his 2025 individual title, crossing the 8k line in a time of 23:03.8. Villanova's Bailey Habler pulled ahead over the eighth and final kilometer to take the BIG EAST championship in a time of 22:58.3.
 
Zegarski, Hadler and three Georgetown runners were among the lead pack throughout much of the race. The Bulldog made a move at the 6k mark to retake the lead as he and Hadler pulled away from the Hoyas. Hadler made a final push as the duo emerged from the woods late in the fourth of the four laps around Pole Green Park, stretching his lead over the final straightaway.
 
Georgetown, ranked No. 11 in this week's national poll, won the team title with 33 points, holding off runner-up (and No. 12-ranked) Villanova (40). All five of the Hoya scorers finished among the Top 10, led by Birhanu Harriman in third and Joe O'Brien in fourth.
 
Providence and Butler tied with 76 points but the Friars were awarded third based on their sixth runner's finish. The Bulldogs had captured four of the last six BIG EAST championships entering the 2026 event.
 
The Bulldog men, ranked No. 26 in this week's USTFCCCA national coaches poll, also received All-BIG EAST performances from Graham Tomori (11^th; 23:45.7) and Kyle Grove (19^th; 24:11.2). Matteo Rosio and Seth Mahony were Butler's fourth and fifth scorers at 21^st and 23^rd, respectively.
 
Providence was led by fifth-place finisher Cormac Dixon but had five scorers among the Top 22 in addition to Sam Hodgson claiming the 24^th spot for the tiebreaker over Butler.
 
The Butler Men (8k):
2) William Zegarski, 23:03.8
11) Graham Tomori, 23:45.7
19) Kyle Grove, 24:11.2
21) Matteo Rosio, 24:12.6
23) Seth Mahony, 24:16.7
28) Sean Byrnes, 24:27.5
33) Asher Propst, 24:36.4
39) Connor Latouf, 24:59.9
42) Brendan Thomas, 25:10.9
 
Men's Team Results:
1) Georgetown, 33 points
2) Villanova, 40
3) Providence, 76 (third due to sixth runner)
4) Butler, 76
5) Marquette, 173
6) Creighton, 201
7) DePaul, 207
8) Xavier, 212
9) Seton Hall, 224

On the women's side, junior Hannah Moore led the Bulldogs in Virginia, placing 28^th overall in a time of 21:09.1. She has been the top Butler finisher in all four events so far this fall. She was followed by freshman Hana Boggess, who was less than three seconds behind, taking 31^st. The Bulldogs were sixth as a team. The Butler women were without several injured runners Friday.
 
Georgetown's Barrett Justema took the BIG EAST title in a time of 19:31.5. Providence, led by runner-up Gabby Schmidt, took the BIG EAST team title with a score of 36. The Friars, currently ranked No. 30 in the national poll, placed four runners among the first nine finishers. That allowed them to edge out Villanova (44).
 
Georgetown had won the last six BIG EAST titles but finished fourth in Friday's meet despite Justema's individual victory.
 
The Butler Women (6k):
28) Hannah Moore, 21:09.1
31) Hana Boggess, 21:12.8
39) Ella Olthof, 21:32.1
44) Poppy Healy, 21:44.0
46) Mckenna Mazeski, 21:51.8
51) Emily Berger, 22:00.2
52) Callie Bentley, 22:08.5
55) Caterina Perego, 22:18.2
 
Women's Team Results:
1) Providence, 36 points
2) Villanova, 44
3) Connecticut, 59
4) Georgetown, 93
5) DePaul, 155
6) Butler, 169
7) Xavier, 230
8) Marquette, 268
9) Creighton, 272
10) Seton Hall, 291
11) St. John's, 324
 
UP NEXT: The NCAA Great Lakes Regional is slated for Friday, Nov. 13 in East Lansing, Mich.