By: Chris Behler

The Xavier men and women’s cross country teams have shown adaptability this season.

With a conference consisting of new teams to compete with in the newly formed Big East, these two squads have had to adjust to some inevitable adversity with a higher set of expectations going forward. They have not disappointed.

Last weekend the women took fifth place at the Big East Championship.

This feat was a difficult one to achieve, considering the talented competition including No. 3 Georgetown, No. 4 Providence, No. 7 Butler and Villanova.

Leading the women were seniors Clare and Abby Fischer, finishing 20th and 21st in 21:17 and 21:25, respectively.

Junior Audrey Ramos finished close behind in 28th with a time of 22:03, followed by senior Jessica Albers (29th, 22:07) and sophomore Sarah Mazzei (32nd, 22:19).

The men’s crew ran a strong race as well, led by freshman Carter Macey, who finished 41st with a time of 26:35.

In close pursuit were senior Chris Hanson (42nd, 26:44), junior Corey Zielinski (43rd, 26:46), senior Spencer Liechty (44th, 26:49) and freshman Aaron Peterson (45th, 27:01).

Coming next for the two squads is the NCAA Great Lakes Regional on Nov. 15 in Madison, Wisc., where they will compete for a chance to run at the NCAA Championship at Indiana State in Terre Haute, Ind.