MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 10-ranked West Virginia University cross country team placed third at the annual Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational at the Blue-White Golf Course in University Park, Pennsylvania, this evening.

 

“Today’s meet served its purpose,” said coach Sean Cleary. “We hit the road and got this season started. As with most opening meets, we had some strong and some frustrating performances. This meet displays that we still have the potential to be a very good team this fall, but also shows that we have a lot of work to tackle before we are where we want to be.”

 

Competing for the first time since 2013, redshirt senior Savanna Plombon was the first Mountaineer to cross the finish line of the 6k race, placing 12th overall in 22:18.

 

Rachel Faulds was the second Mountaineer finisher, placing 17th overall with a time of 22:41. Corinne Kule finished in 19th overall (23:21), followed by Renee Maisonneuve in 20th (23:22) and Allie Diehl in 21st (23:34).

 

No. 23 Penn State won the meet with a team score of 21 points. Syracuse took second place with a team score of 34. West Virginia followed with a third-place finish, totaling 89 points.

 

“We will now go home and begin to work on some of our weaknesses,” said Cleary. “With weeks to go until we line up again, it's so important that the group accepts the work and discipline that lies ahead.”

 

The Mountaineers travel to Louisville, Kentucky, to compete at the Greater Louisville Classic on Saturday, Oct. 3.