XC Places Eighth at NCAA Championship
November 22, 2014 04:07 PM | General
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Williams Earns Elite 89 Award
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University cross country team recorded its fifth NCAA top-10 finish since 2007, placing in eighth place overall, today, at the 2014 NCAA Division I Women’s Cross Country Championship.
“We are thrilled with this performance. The NCAA Cross Country Championship is the epitome of the sport. This race is the deepest field of distance runners in the world,” said coach Sean Cleary. “When we started out this season, we really felt like we could finish in the top 10. To sit here in November having completed the season as an Elite 8 team is a dream come true for this group.”
With just one active senior on the roster, the Mountaineers made their seventh appearance at the NCAA championship in the last eight seasons under Cleary.
Sophomore Jillian Forsey led the way for the Mountaineers, earning All-America status, finishing in 14th place overall in 20:17.9. Forsey improved on her 115th place finish as a freshman a season ago by more than 100 spots.
Senior Kaitlyn Gillespie also earned All-America honors in her final race as a Mountaineer, completing the 6k course in 26th overall in 20:30.7.
“From the first meet back in August, we have gained confidence and met the challenge of every meet. Every team has suffered a few setbacks over the last few weeks. It’s very pleasing to me that we were able to put ours behind us,” Cleary said. “We sit here today with two All-Americans, the Elite 89 Award winner and an Elite 8 team finish. Our hope is to build upon this result and come back in a year and stand on that podium.”
Freshmen Maggie Drazba and Brynn Harshbarger had impressive results at their first NCAA Championship appearances. Drazba recorded a top-100 finish, placing in 91st overall in 21:09.2. Harshbarger, a Morgantown, W.Va., native, placed 103rd overall in 21:13.5.
Junior Sydney Scott was the fifth scorer for West Virginia, registering a 129th place result. Junior Kelly Williams finished 152nd (21:35.4) and freshman Millie Paladino placed 210th (22:01.3) to round out the WVU finishers.
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