Mountaineers En Route to NCAA Regionals
November 10, 2016 01:41 PM | Cross Country
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 27 West Virginia University cross country team returns to State College, Pennsylvania, for the third time this season to compete at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regionals on Friday, Nov. 11.
Live results can be found at Runhigh.com, and a live blog can be followed at USTFCCCA.org. Fans can also follow @WVUcrosscountry on Twitter for additional updates and news.
Hosted by Penn State, the women’s 6k regional race is set to begin at noon on the Nittany Lions’ Blue-White Golf Course. In a field of 32 teams, the top 25 runners will earn All-Mid-Atlantic Region honors. West Virginia has previewed PSU’s course twice this season, at the Spiked Shoe Invite on Sept. 10, and the Penn State National Open on Oct. 14.
“This is it,” said coach Sean Cleary. “The NCAA Regionals has been on this group’s mind since August. Regardless of the outcome, I could not be prouder of the commitment of this team. We have had a few bumps and bruises along the way, but I have no doubt that they will run their hearts out in the hopes of qualifying for the NCAA Championship. Every team in the country for the most part has to deal with a less-than ideal set for the weekend. To move the entire team through a flawless season is virtually impossible. To date, we have nailed our goals to near perfection. This is simply one more race on top of an already successful year.”
Along with No. 27 WVU, three regional competitors are ranked in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Poll – No. 9 Penn State, No. 21 Villanova and No. 24 Penn, while Georgetown is receiving three votes.
In the USTFCCCA Mid-Atlantic Regional Rankings, Penn State ranks No. 1, followed by No. 2 Villanova, No. 3 Penn, No. 4 West Virginia and No. 5 Georgetown.
The Mountaineers are looking to qualify for the NCAA Cross Country Championships, for the first time since 2014. A total of 31 teams compete at the NCAA Championships, with 18 automatic bids (the top-two teams in each region) and 13 at-large bids.
After team qualifications have been determined, 38 additional individual runners will be selected to compete at nationals. The top-four finishers at each regional meet are automatically selected, but they must finish within the top 25 of their region. Two additional athletes also will be selected from the remainder of the national group and will receive at-large individual bids, but the runners must finish in the top 25 in their region.
At last year’s NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regionals, West Virginia finished fifth with two All-Region honors, Millie Paladino and Savanna Plombon. Penn State won the regional title with 60 points, followed by Georgetown in second (75), Princeton in third (80), Villanova in fourth (114) and West Virginia in fifth (134). The Mountaineers posted their best team finish in 2008, when they won the regional title.
WVU is coming off a third-place finish at the Big 12 Championship on Oct. 29. Redshirt junior Jillian Forsey posted a runner-up finish at the championship, her best finish yet, to earn All-Big 12 honors.
The 2016 NCAA Championships are held in Terre Haute, Indiana, on Nov. 19, at 11 a.m. ET.
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