Drazba, Forsey Conclude 2016 Campaign at NCAAs

Saturday, November 19

Terre Haute, Ind.

11:00 a.m.

West Virginia University

NCAA Championship

November 19, 2016 02:02 PM | Cross Country

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Redshirt juniors Maggie Drazba and Jillian Forsey of the West Virginia University cross country team concluded the 2016 season at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships on Saturday in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Results

In a field of 250 runners in the women's 6k race at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course, Drazba placed 58th and Forsey finished in 97th.

“We are leaving Indiana with very mixed emotions,” said coach Sean Cleary. “Maggie ran a fantastic race. This was without a doubt the best race of Maggie's WVU career. Running within 10 seconds of an All-American award puts the stamp on a wonderful comeback for Maggie. This sets her up very well for the rest of the year. Maggie will leave this meet knowing that the best running years of her life are in front of her. For Jillian, we are heart broken. A fall between 2-3k took her out of the race. Jill had a much better start then she did in 2014. Both Jill and Maggie are committed to having their entire team with them in the NCAA Finals next fall. They have the ability, and I have no doubt that they will work hard enough as a unit to accomplish that goal.”

Drazba, a native of St. Mary's, West Virginia, placed 58th in the championship race with a time of 20:34.8, her best career finish at the NCAA Championships. Drazba last competed at the 2014 NCAA Championships, when WVU qualified as a team, where she placed 91st overall with a time of 21:09.2.

Forsey, a Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador, native, crossed the finish line in 97th today, with a time of 20:49.8. It marked Forsey's third NCAA Championships appearance and the first as an individual qualifier. In 2014, she placed 14th with a time of 20:17.9 to earn All-America honors. At the 2013 championships, she placed 145th with a time of 21:37.5.

At the 2016 NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regionals on Nov. 11, Forsey earned her ticket to the national championships after finishing second overall with a time of 20:09. Drazba was the second Mountaineers finisher, placing 11th with a time of 20:47. She was selected to compete at the NCAA Championships by the committee on Nov. 17. The two Mountaineers earned all-region honors for placing in the top 25 at regionals. West Virginia placed fourth overall as a team.

This is the fourth time in program history that two Mountaineers represented the Old Gold and Blue at the National Championships. Rebecca Stallwood and Merissa Sexsmith were the duo in 1999, Megan Metcalfe and Tara Struyk in 2003 and Kaitlyn Gillespie and Sarah-Anne Brault in 2010.

Karissa Schweizer, a junior from Missouri won the NCAA Championship title with a time of 19:41.6. In second place was Michigan senior Erin Finn with a time of 19:44.2, followed by Notre Dame sophomore Anna Rohrer in third (19:44.6).

Oregon took the women's team championship title, totaling 125 pints, followed by Michigan in second (126), Colorado in third (134), NC State in fourth (223) and Stanford in fifth (255).

For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUCrossCountry on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.