West Virginia University
NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional
Cross Country: WVU Finished Third at Regionals
November 14, 2009 05:11 PM | Cross Country
November 14, 2009
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 7 West Virginia University cross country team finished third today, at the Mid-Atlantic Regionals held on the campus of Maryland Eastern Shore, in Princess Anne, Md.
Villanova took the top spot with 23 points, while Princeton followed in second (77), WVU in third (82), Penn State in fourth (98) and Georgetown in fifth (100).
Senior Clara Grandt was the first Mountaineer to cross the line in eighth place, as the West Union, W.Va., native finished with a time of 20:53, respectively.
Seniors Marie-Louise Asselin and Keri Bland also raced well, following 13th and 18th, while sophomores Kate Harrison and Kaylyn Christopher finished close, in 19th and 24th. Asselin recorded a time of 21:07, while Bland and Harrison both finished in 21:40, and Christopher recorded a time of 21:45.
For finishing the top 25, Grandt, Asselin, Bland, Harrison and Christopher were named to the NCAA Mid-Atlantic all-region team.
Asselin and Bland finish their Mid-Atlantic Region careers as only the second and third Mountaineers to be named as four-time all-region runners.
Sophomore Ahna Lewis finished the race in 27th with a time of 21:45, while junior Jessica O'Connell crossed the line in 74th (23:39).
Villanova took the top two spots as Sheila Reid and Amanda Marino finished in first (20:32) and second (20:27). Today marked Reid's second-straight first-place finish and fourth individual title of the season, after being named as the BIG EAST Individual Champion (20:46) at the conference championships on Oct. 31.
With the top two teams, earning automatic bids to the NCAA Championships, WVU will await to here if it receives an at-large bid on Monday.
"We have to wait for a bid, but we are optimistic that we have done enough this fall to garner a spot in the NCAA meet," coach Sean Cleary says. "I feel much better about our performance today than I did about our performance at the BIG EAST Championship. We are still looking to have our break out race for the fall. The girls know they have even more to give. Nationals would be a great place for this to happen."
The NCAA Championship is set to be hosted by Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Ind., on Nov. 23.
