Cross Country: WVU Fourth at Nationals
November 24, 2008 02:52 PM | General
November 24, 2008
TERRE HAUTE, IND. - The West Virginia University cross country team finished in fourth place at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships today in Terre Haute, Ind., marking the highest-ever finish in school history, topping last year’s ninth-place finish.
“Bottom line is that first we wanted to improve upon last year’s ninth place finish and we wanted to be in the top five,” Coach Sean Cleary says. “The top four teams get trophies, so we moved that goal up to finish in the top four and we’re bringing home a trophy. I’m just thrilled for this team. It’s been a great year and I just hope that the momentum will continue to increase.
Fairview, W.Va., native and junior Keri Bland led the team and finished 14th with a time of 20:20, while classmate Marie-Louise Asselin, a Sarnia, Ontario, native, finished 17th with a time of 20:27. With their top-40 individual finish, Bland and Asselin earn All-America honors for the second consecutive year.
“This race was the best I’ve felt in any race I’ve ever ran in my career,” Bland says.
The Mountaineers took the fourth-place finish with 198 points. Washington took first place (79) followed by Oregon (131) and Florida State (163). WVU edged Mid-Atlantic foe, Princeton, by 22 points, as the Tigers finished in fifth place with 220 points.
Kate Harrison finished 69th (20:58), followed by Kaylyn Christopher in 110th place (21:17). Jessica O’Connell placed 160th with a time of 21:41, while Ahna Lewis placed 163rd with a time 21:42.
Texas Tech’s Sally Kipyego took first place to win her third-consecutive championship title with a time of 19:29.
The team did not have one senior on the seven-person squad today.
