Official BIG EAST Release

NEW YORK--Following his first place finish at the Paul Short Run last week, Villanova junior Patrick Tiernan (Toowoomba, Australia) was named the BIG EAST Male Athlete of the Week on Tuesday afternoon. Tiernan earns the award for the third time in his career and the first time this season.

The individual victory for Tiernan at the Paul Short Run last week was the seventh in his 14 collegiate cross country starts. He covered the 8,000 meter course on the Lehigh campus in 23:55 and finished with a three-second margin of victory. It was the second time in as many races that Tiernan had won a race at Lehigh, as he also won the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional crown there as a freshman two years ago.

Tiernan has won each of his first two races this season while competing at the Main Line Invitational and the Paul Short Run. In his most recent outing last week, the Wildcats boasted three of the top four finishers in a field of 278 runners. Seniors Jordy Williamsz (Melbourne, Australia) and Rob Denault (Aurora, Ont.) came in second and fourth, respectively.

Villanova is currently ranked No. 12 in the nation and is second in the Mid-Atlantic region in the latest polls released by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA). The team will be back in action when it competes at the Princeton Invitational on October 17.

NOTES: Tiernan was previously named the BIG EAST Male Athlete of the Week after victories at the Main Line Invitational in 2013 and the Washington Invitational last year ââ'¬Â¦ His winning time of 23:55 at the Paul Short meet last week was the seventh-fastest in the last 15 years by a Villanova runner on the Lehigh course.