To win cross country championships, Providence College coach Ray Treacy recruits around the world.

"We try to get the best athletes we possibly can," said Treacy, whose men's and women's teams once again are the best in the Big East.

With athletes from Ireland and Saskatchewan, New Zealand and England, West Hartford by way of Somalia, as well as from such exotic locales as Sudbury, Mass., Garden City, N.Y., and Harpswell, Maine, the Friars ran off with a pair of conference titles last weekend at Franklin Park in Boston.

It was the third time the Friars have won both the men's and women's cross country championships. More impressively, it was the 15th title for the PC men and the fifth for the women.

"It was a great day," Treacy said. "I'm very happy. The guys didn't go in as favorites, but they responded."

There are several reasons the Friars have so many international runners. One is that PC has a hard time attracting top American runners.

"We're not going to get the best American kids, that's the bottom line," Treacy said. "We don't have the facilities."

Amazingly, considering the success Friar runners have had over the years, PC still does not have a track.

But that's not the only reason Treacy recruits extensively overseas.

"If you get a kid who's willing to travel thousands of miles to come to your school," he said, "you know they're going to give 100 percent. You know you're going to get every bit of them, and that they're going to succeed -- not just athletically, but academically, too."

While it's difficult for Treacy to recruit in the States, he says it's "easy" for him to attract foreign runners to PC.

"When I talk to a kid in Ireland," he said, "they know who I am."

Treacy was a national junior champion and a member of the Irish national cross country team before following his older brother, John -- the silver medalist in the marathon in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles -- to PC, where he twice won the New England cross country championship, was three-time Big East champion in the 5,000 meters indoors, and also won IC4A titles outdoors in both the 5,000 and 10,000 meters.

But what's more important to recruits is Treacy's record in developing the talents of such recent Olympians as Kim Smith, Maria McCambridge, Mark Carroll, Sinead Delahunty, Marie McMahon and Amy Rudolph.

"We have a good reputation with foreign kids from our past history," Treacy said. "It's an easier sell for me because I can name top PC athletes who have competed for their country in the European and World Championships."

Treacy, who has been coaching at PC since 1984 -- two years after he graduated -- tailors the training regimen for each athlete.

"It's all individual," he said. "To get the very best out of each athlete, you have to tailor the program to each runner. I make out workout sheets catering to each runner's individual strengths and weaknesses, depending on the time of year."

Depending on the day, the Friars run at Goddard Park or Lincoln Woods, over the grounds of the monastery in Cumberland, or over the roads of Providence.

When it came time to run at the Big East championships, they were at their best.

Martin Fagan, a senior from Mullingar, Ireland, led the men to victory by romping to his second straight individual title, finishing 22 seconds ahead of the runner-up. Max Smith, a junior from New Zealand, was fourth and Ahmed Haji, another junior, was 10th.

Haji, a devout Muslim, is just returning to top form after fasting during the holy month of Ramadan.

"He's a very driven kid," Treacy said. "He was the New England (high school) cross country champion and wants to get the best out of himself, on all fronts."

With Richard Yeates of Dublin, Ireland, finishing 15th and Nicholas Weidman of Sudbury, 22nd, the Friars edged Georgetown for the team title, 52-58.

The Hoyas also were second in the women's race, although far behind PC, which rolled to a 39-68 win, as the Lady Friars placed four runners among the top 10.

Aine Hoban, a grad student from Wakefield, England, was second; sophomore Danette Doetzel of Saskatchewan, Canada, was fifth; sophomore Katie DiCamillo of Garden City was seventh; and Breffini Twohig, a freshman from Dublin, Ireland, was 10th. Also scoring was freshman Krystal Douglas, a walk-on from Maine, who finished 15th.

In the latest national Division 1 coaches' poll, the PC men are ranked 12th and the women 10th.

Now in his third decade at PC, Treacy has coached 10 NCAA individual champions and 120 Big East champions. In 1995, his women's team won the NCAA cross country championship. The Lady Friars also finished third in both 2004 and '05, with Kim Smith of New Zealand winning the individual title last year.

With a record like that, you'd think Treacy would be recruited by programs with more resources than Providence.

"That's not what it's all about for me," he said. "I love my job. I look forward to coming to work every day. I've got goals and, when you achieve them, you can't buy that kind of feeling. When we won (the Big East titles), it was great to see the reaction of the kids -- how thrilled they were to be PC athletes.

"I'm very happy here. My wife (Lisa) is very happy, my kids (sons Michael and Liam) are very happy. The big move for me was from Ireland to Rhode Island. I don't want to go any farther."

There's no need, when he can get dedicated runners from around the world to come to Providence.

jdonalds@projo.com / (401) 277-7340