West Virginia University
Big East Championship
Big East Preview
October 29, 2009 11:07 AM | Cross Country
October 29, 2009
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - This season the No. 4-ranked West Virginia University cross country team has seen its share of success. After finishing first in three of four races, and being ranked in the top five nationally and regionally all season, the Mountaineers are hungry. They are hungry for more success as they prepare for the BIG EAST Championship set for Saturday, Oct. 31, in Milwaukee.
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| Clara Grandt, Marie-Louise Asselin (312) and Keri Bland (313) will lead West Virginia this weekend at the 2009 Big East Cross Country Championships in Milwaukee.
Tad Davis photo |
Last year the Mountaineers finished second behind Villanova with Marie-Louise Asselin taking top individual honors with a time of 20:10. The two schools have developed quite a rivalry.
"Two years ago when we went into the BIG EAST Championship, we thought we could win if things went our way. We were underdogs and we won," third-year head coach Sean Cleary said. "Since then, the conference has gotten much stronger. Last year if you would have asked me the majority of the season how I thought the BIG EAST was going to go, quietly on the side I would have said that I thought we had it covered, and we lost. We then came back to beat Villanova the next two times, but we lost that meet."
Despite not taking the top spot, the Mountaineers had three runners finish in the top 10 with Asselin at No. 1, Clara Grandt at No. 3 (20:29) and Keri Bland at No. 4 (20:32).
Kaylyn Christopher finished 18th with a time of 21:09, followed by Ahna Lewis (21:17) in 22nd place. Jessica O'Connell and Kate Harrison also raced well as they finished in 29th (21:30) and 32nd (21:34). The Mountaineers will race all seven runners that placed last season, as well as senior Karly Hamric and junior Maria Dalzot, for what is likely their strongest lineup every for a BIG EAST race.
The Mountaineers have three first-place finishes this fall, including the Midwest Open in which WVU got the opportunity to preview the BIG EAST Championship course. There, Grandt blew away the competition finishing with a time of 17:00.1 - 20 seconds ahead of second place and the fastest course time in more than 20 years.
But the Mountaineers are expecting a battle this weekend with the BIG EAST presenting one of the toughest conferences in the sport. As of Oct. 27, the BIG EAST had four teams, including WVU, in the Top 10.
Villanova has been ranked No. 2 for most of the season by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association and the Wildcats also return a veteran squad.
"Coming into the season no one thought anyone had a shot against No. 1 Washington. Villanova is now running like a team that can without question run with Washington," Cleary said. "We hope to run with them both at nationals, but it looks like they are a little bit better prepared to race in that type of a meet right now. With that said, we are going to have to go in with a better plan than we had last year."
The Wildcats are coming off a title at the Virginia Panorama Farms Invite, as they took first four spots. Junior Sheila Reid, senior Nicole Schappert, junior Amanda Marino and sophomore Bogdana Mimic all broke the previous course record, set by 2009 NCAA 1500-meter champion and 2008 NCAA cross country runner-up Susan Kujiken.
"They lost Francis Koons last season, but they brought a couple girls back from redshirts and they have an international flavor," Cleary added. "Villanova is really the history of our sport. They struggled for four or five years away from the types of performances that they were used to. Honestly, in this sport it takes good recruiting and sensible coaching. Then it takes a lot of confidence and that group has tremendous confidence right now."
Also in the Top 10 is No. 9 Georgetown, which finished fourth in the blue race at the 2009 NCAA Pre-Nationals, hosted by Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Ind., on Oct. 17. Sophomore All-American Emily Infeld was named BIG EAST Athlete of the Week after finishing in ninth (20:45.1).
Syracuse is also in the Top 10 this year. The Orange also competed in the NCAA Pre-Nationals and recorded a fourth-place finish in the white race. Junior Katie Hursey led the Orange for the second meet in a row, posting the team's best time of 21:14.7, earning 23rd overall.
No. 24 Providence is a dark horse after finishing in third place at the Penn State National Invitational.
"It is a wonderful conference. Syracuse for the first time in school history is ranked inside the Top 10, Georgetown was ninth at nationals last year, and Providence has the longest streak of qualifying for nationals and they are fifth in the league. It is a quite impressive group," Cleary admits. "The greatest thing about being in this conference is when you emerge through and get your girls to the front of it and you can work your way though the regional meet – they are not intimidated by a national class team, they have already seen it."
Already extremely successful this season, look for the Mountaineers to battle this weekend as they work to once again regain the top spot in the BIG EAST. The competition may be tough, but WVU is more than ready.
"We are the underdog and Villanova is the favorite, but our girls expect to win," Cleary said. "They have been thinking about it for a year."
Race time is set for 12:50 p.m. ET, at Marquette's Wayne E. Dannehl National XC Course.
