KENOSHA, Wisc. — Juniors Sadie Sigfstead and Emma McGill finished fourth and fifth individually to lead the Wildcats to a third place team finish at the 2023 BIG EAST Cross Country Championships Presented by JEEP Saturday at the Wayne Dannehl National Cross Country Course.
 
Villanova finished the day with a team score of 80 points to come in third out of 11 teams at the meet behind Georgetown and Providence.
 
Sigfstead has led the Wildcats all season and continued to assert her dominance at the conference championships. The Edmonton, Alta. native ran near the front of the pack for the entirety of the 6,000 meter race and crossed the finish line in 20:25.67. The junior trio of Sigfstead, McGill and Emily Robinson led the way for the Wildcats over the 6k course. McGill was the next Villanova runner to finish, clocking 20:30.89. She and Sigfstead each earned first team All-BIG EAST honors.
 
Robinson ran a strong race and scored key team points with an 18^th place finish and a time of 21:22.34, good for second team All-BIG EAST recognition. Freshman Tilly O'Connor finished 26^th in 21:41.27 in her BIG EAST Championships debut and junior Margaret Carroll was right behind her with a time of 21:44.21 in 27^th place.

Villanova will now prepare for the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional on Friday, November 10. The regional meet takes places on the Goodman Campus Course at Lehigh and will determine the automatic and at-large qualifiers for the NCAA Championships later next month.