Complete Results

MADISON, Wisc. - In a field that consisted of many of the top teams from around the country, Villanova got strong performances from senior Angel Piccirillo (Homer City, Pa.) and junior Siofra Cleirigh Buttner (Dublin, Ireland) to finish 12th overall at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational on Friday afternoon. Piccirillo placed 19th out of more than 200 runners and the Wildcats finished ahead of seven nationally-ranked teams and another five schools that received votes in the most recent national poll.

Villanova scored a total of 345 points and beat BIG EAST rival Georgetown as well as Mid-Atlantic Region teams Penn and Princeton. The meet featured four of the top six teams in the latest United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Women's Top 30 poll, and 24 of the 31 teams in competition (including the Wildcats) were either nationally ranked or receiving votes.

The test was a good one for a Villanova team which is continuing to round into form as the season progresses. Piccirillo and Cleirigh Buttner were the team's top two finishers for the second straight race after they made their season debuts in successful fashion at the Paul Short Run two weeks ago. Piccirillo recorded a time of 20:35.9 on the 6,000 meter Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course on the Wisconsin campus, while Cleirigh Buttner came in 32nd in the field of 211 runners with a time of 20:45.9.

Junior Katie Fisher (Uxbridge, Ont.) has come on strong this season and was the Wildcats third scoring runner. She placed 61st overall and recorded a time of 21:03.6. Sophomores Bella Burda (Pleasant Valley, N.Y.) and Sammy Bockoven (Hudson, Ohio) finished 102nd (21:27.1) and 131st (21:46.3), respectively, to round out the team's five scorers.

Another positive development for Villanova was the return of sophomores Kaley Ciluffo (LeClaire, Iowa) and Nicole Hutchinson (West Vancouver, B.C.) to the Wildcats lineup. They recorded times of 22:37.2 and 23:38.7, respectively. Ciluffo competed for the second time this season, while Hutchinson was making her season debut.

Washington, ranked No. 4 in the nation entering Friday's meet, won the team title with 124 points to narrowly come in ahead of No. 3 North Carolina State (166) and No. 1 Providence (170). Brenna Peloquin of Boise State won the individual title with a time of 20:00.8.

Villanova is relying on a relatively young lineup this season, with four of the seven runners who competed at Wisconsin being in their second year of cross country eligibility. The team has showed great signs of progress in each of its three meets thus far and is continuing to build towards the upcoming postseason competitions.

A contingent of runners from the Wildcats is scheduled to compete at the Haverford Invitational next Friday afternoon, while the team will also begin preparing in earnest for the BIG EAST Championships later this month and the NCAA regional and national meets in November.

TEAM SCORES

Washington 124, North Carolina State 166, Providence 170, New Mexico 207, Baylor 228, San Francisco 258, Utah 287, Iowa State 309, Notre Dame 313, BYU 318, Yale 335, Villanova 345, UCLA 348, Penn 354, Harvard 357, Minnesota 385, SMU 388, Boise State 404, Michigan State 439, Syracuse 454, Wisconsin 473, Georgetown 525, Weber State 588, Northern Arizona 590, Tulsa 602, Florida State 606, Boston College 644, Vanderbilt 650, Princeton 718, North Carolina 766, Columbia 832

COMPLETE VILLANOVA RESULTS

Angel Piccirillo                 19th of 211          20:35.9Siofra Cleirigh Buttner          32nd                 20:45.9Katie Fisher                     61st                 21:03.6Bella Burda                      102nd                21:27.1Sammy Bockoven                   131st                21:46.3Kaley Ciluffo                    183rd                22:37.2Nicole Hutchinson                204th                23:38.7