MADISON, Wis.—In the first major meet of the 2018 cross country season an impressive team effort led Villanova to a fourth place finish in a stacked field of teams at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational on Friday afternoon.  The women's championship race featured seven of the nation's top 10 teams, and the eighth-ranked Wildcats finished ahead of two teams that were ranked higher in this week's national poll. 
 
Villanova was led by the senior duo of Nicole Hutchinson (West Vancouver, B.C.) and Caroline Alcorta (Springfield, Va.) who finished 11^th and 12^th overall in a field of more than 200 runners.  Sophomore Rachel McArthur (Bristow, Va.) was third on the team with a 29^th place finish, while freshmen Reilly Seibert (Syosset, N.Y.) and Lydia Olivere (Wilmington, Del.) were the team's fourth and fifth scoring runners.  They placed 51^st and 53^rd, respectively. 
 
Hutchinson broke 20 minutes on the 6,000 meter Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course which will host the NCAA Championships later this season.  She crossed the finish line in 19:58.9 and was followed closely by Alcorta with a time of 20:00.0.  The trio of Hutchinson, Alcorta and McArthur went out strong near the front of a crowded pack for the first half of the race, solidifying the Wildcats chances at posting a high finish in the team standings. 
 
Villanova recorded a team score of 156 points to trail team champion Colorado (80 points), Boise State (91) and the pre-meet favorite New Mexico (130).  There were a total of 15 nationally-ranked squads in the 33-team field, making the meet a particularly loaded one for this point in the season.  The fourth place finish bodes well going forward for the Wildcats, who finished two spots in front of seventh-ranked and meet host Wisconsin as well as six spots in front of No. 6 North Carolina State.
 
Also noteworthy from the Wisconsin meet were the results of other teams from the Mid-Atlantic Region and from the BIG EAST.  Villanova entered the meet in the top spot of the most recent Mid-Atlantic rankings and defended that position over No. 2 Penn State which came in 13^th overall.  BIG EAST squads Providence (20^th), Georgetown (25^th) and Butler (26^th) also raced in Friday's meet. 
 
Sophomore Lauren Ryan (South Yarra, Australia) and junior Ann Campbell (Mission Hills, Kan.) were the Wildcats sixth and seventh runners.  Ryan crossed the finish line with a time of 21:07.6 and Campbell finished in 21:26.7. 
 
Villanova will be idle next weekend before returning to action at the Princeton Invitational on October 13.