Cross Country: League Title on the Line
October 29, 2010 10:46 AM | General
2010 Cross Country Season Stats Women's 6K CourseMORGANTOWN, W. Va. – After months of training and preparatory meets, the championship season has arrived for the West Virginia University cross country team as it heads to Syracuse, N.Y., to compete at the BIG EAST Championships on Saturday morning.
The 6K conference tilt will begin at 10:30 a.m. at Jamesville Beach County Park as the Mountaineers are set to face off against league foes No. 1 Villanova, No. 5 Georgetown, host No. 8 Syracuse, No. 13 Providence and several other strong BIG EAST programs such as Notre Dame, Louisville and South Florida.
WVU won the conference title in 2007 and has come in second place the past two seasons behind Villanova, the defending national champions. Coach Sean Cleary indicates that success will come through running closer together as a team.
“What we have been preaching is to continue to close our gaps,” he says. “I will be very excited if our front runners can have their best races of the year and our gap continues to shrink. I really feel as if we are pulling together at the right time and can pull this off.”
The Mountaineers experienced the course on Sept. 11 when they competed at the BIG EAST Preview, which Cleary says will help the team in its quest. The difficult course includes varied terrain with several hills and wooded trails.
“We ran this course earlier in the year and know what to expect,” he says. “The teams that handle the adverse conditions this weekend will emerge having met their goals.”
Expected to lead the team is senior Maria Dalzot, juniors Sarah-Anne Brault and Ahna Lewis and sophomore Kaitlyn Gillespie.
“In reality, i need everybody to run their best this weekend,” Cleary says. “We are trying to beat teams that we have not been in a position to beat all year. We are healthy going in and expect our best race of the season. Ahna had a nice debut race at Penn State; the cobwebs are blown out and we feel she can move forward this weekend. Maria has the drive and focus to not only reel in her teammates but more importantly bring her teammates with her up the course.”
Cleary simply hopes for the best effort from his team.
“The Big East is the best conference in the country,” he says. “At least four teams in this league will, in my opinion, finish in the top eight at the national championships in November. I want this group to go in, run unfazed with the competition and realize that they belong. This is essential for not only this weekend but the future of this program.”
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