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Mountaineers Return to Penn State on Friday
October 13, 2016 01:56 PM | Cross Country
MORGANTOWN, W.VA. – The No. 30 West Virginia University cross country team returns to State College, Pennsylvania, to compete at the Penn State National Open on Friday, October 14 at the Blue and White Course.
The women’s 6k race is set to begin at 11:30 a.m., ET. This will be the second time the Mountaineers compete on the Nittany Lions’ course this season, as the team also raced there on September 8, at the Spiked Shoe Invitational.
Information about the meet can be found at GoPSUSports.com. For live updates and content follow USTFCCCA’s National Results Wall at www.ustfccca.org.
“We’ve been to Penn State so often in my career here at West Virginia that it starts to feel like a semi-home meet,” coach Sean Cleary said. “The girls are very familiar with the course. They’re comfortable with the trip, and we’re excited to go over. We’ve had a lot of success on that course. All teams across the country in the middle of the season are dealing with little injuries and sicknesses, so really it’s a matter of managing your talent and getting to the end of your season healthy and ready to go. We’re in a good spot going into Penn State. There’s definitely some teams out there on paper that have run better than us this fall, but we’re hoping to close the gap on them and maybe upset a few.”
The Penn State National Open features 21 teams, including six teams that are nationally ranked or receiving votes – No. 8 Penn State, No. 14 Oklahoma State, No. 25 Ole Miss and No. 30 West Virginia. Cornell and William and Mary are receiving votes.
For the first time since week four of the 2015 season, the Mountaineers are ranked in the latest USTFCCCA National Poll, at No. 30. West Virginia also moved up to No. 4 in the Mid-Atlantic Regional Rankings.
WVU last saw competition at the Paul Short Invitational in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. West Virginia tied for third place, scoring 127 team points, while three Mountaineers posted top-18 finishes with numerous season- and career-best times on the Goodman Cross Country Course.
Redshirt junior Jillian Forsey crossed the finish line first for the Mountaineers, placing fourth with a season-best time of 20:14. Forsey improved 51 seconds from her time of 21:05.50 at the Texas Tech Open on September 8. Redshirt junior Maggie Drazba followed in 15th place with a career-best time of 20:27 while classmate Amy Cashin took 18th with a career-best time 20:32.
In two weeks, the Mountaineers will compete for a Big 12 title at the 2016 Big 12 Cross Country Championship in Lubbock, Texas, on October 29. West Virginia was able to preview the championship course, as the team opened its season winning the Texas Tech Invitational on September 8.
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