Women's Cross Country: WVU 27th
August 25, 2003 05:34 PM | General
August 25, 2003
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The West Virginia University women's cross country team was ranked 27th in the 2003 Trackshark preseason poll released on Monday.
After finishing just short of qualifying for NCAA's last season, the Mountaineers will return their top seven runners and are poised to make a run at this years Championships.
"Our expectations are simple, qualify for the NCAA Championships," assistant coach Sean Cleary said. "We were very close last year after a fourth place finish at regionals. Since then, the women have all improved drastically in track season and had a solid summer of training so we are poised for another run at Nationals."
The team's number one returner is All-American junior Megan Metcalfe. Aside from being a first team All-American, Metcalfe, an Edmonton, Alberta, native, was also named all-Mid-Atlantic Region and all-BIG EAST. She received the 2002 Mid-Atlantic Region Woman of the Year Award after finishing ninth at the NCAA Championships, third at the BIG EAST Championships, and first in the Mid Atlantic Regionals, Hillbilly Classic, and Paul Short Invitational.
After qualifying for the NCAA Track Championships this past spring in the 5 and 10 K, respectively, junior Tara Struyk is expected to man the number two spot again this season.
According to Cleary, the five remaining spots will likely be filled by junior Devon Plesuk, junior Jennifer Kemp, junior Jennifer Davis, sophomore Susan Davis, and junior Rachel Carden.
"Kemp set a school record in the 800 meters and made it to the NCAA semifinals, Plesuk finished third in the 10 K at the Big East Championships, (Jennifer) Davis was all-BIG EAST in the steeplechase setting a school record, (Susan) Davis ran third for us at regionals in a clutch run, and Carden was a BIG EAST qualifier in the 5,000 meters," Cleary said.
Including West Virginia, a total of six BIG EAST schools were represented in Trackshark's Top 35 Poll, with three teams landing in the Top 10. Notre Dame (2), Georgetown (3), and Villanova (5) all received Top 10 recognition while Providence (13), West Virginia (27), and Virginia Tech (34) complete the list.
"The number of BIG EAST schools in this poll proves that the BIG EAST is the best conference in the country," Cleary said.
The Mountaineers open their season on Saturday, Sept. 6, when they host the annual Hillbilly Classic in Morgantown.
