NEW YORK—After a strong finish in the team standings at last week's Paul Short Run the Villanova women's cross country team is earning due recognition this week for their early-season success. In rankings released this week by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) the Wildcats have ascended to No. 1 in the Mid-Atlantic region and appear in the national poll for the first time this season with a spot at No. 20 in this week's Top 30.  
 
In addition to the team rankings Villanova also earned an individual honor as senior Lydia Olivere (Wilmington, Del.) was selected as this week's BIG EAST Female Athlete of the Week. Olivere came in third out of more than 300 runners in the Women's Gold race at last week's meet and earns her first career BIG EAST weekly honor. She covered the 6K course on the Lehigh campus in 20:03.0 to lead the Wildcats last Friday; the time is the second-fastest of her career on a 6K cross country course and she was one of three Villanova runners who were among the top six across the finish line.
 
Olivere has been the Wildcats top finisher in six of her last eight cross country starts since the beginning of the 2019 season. She is a three-time first team All-BIG EAST performer in cross country and was the USTFCCCA Mid-Atlantic Region Women's Athlete of the Year in 2019 when she won the BIG EAST and NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional individual titles during a season when she also earned her first collegiate All-America honor.
 
Villanova finished in a virtual tie for first place in the Gold Race at the Paul Short Run with a team score of 85 points. The upstart Wildcats tied then-No. 12 Northern Arizona while finishing ahead of No. 15 Georgetown as a result of having all five of its scoring runners finish in the top 36 of the field of 343 runners. Olivere was followed by freshman Sadie Sigfstead (Edmonton, Alta.) and junior Maggie Smith (Halifax, N.S.) who came in fifth and sixth overall, while redshirt freshman Kendra Lewis (Vancouver, B.C.) and junior Anna Helwigh (Soborg, Denmark) placed 35^th and 36^th, respectively.
 
The Paul Short Run is one of the well-known traditional meets on the cross country schedule and served as the first big race of the season for Villanova. Next up for the Wildcats is another good test later in the month when the team competes in the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational on October 15.