MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University track and field team won three events on Saturday at the WVU Open as the team hosted its second and final home meet of the season at the WVU Shell Building.
The Mountaineers claimed three victories, two in individual events and one in relay competition. West Virginia also added five second-place finishes.
Eight teams competed at the WVU Open: Charleston, Davis & Elkins, Hagerstown Community College, Washington and Jefferson, Waynesburg, Frostburg State, West Liberty and the WVU Running Club.
“Well this is it, the beginning of the indoor season really officially starts today,” coach Sean Cleary said. “We had about half the group competing today. I think it was a good rust-buster. It was good to see the team in one place at one time. Ultimately I believe this will help us for two weeks from now when we actually hit the road. Scheduling home meets are always fun because you sleep in your own bed, the parents are here, there is some atmosphere in this building today, so we’ll take a little bit of momentum, we’ll inject a number of new faces into the next competition and we’ll probably learn a lot more about who we are in two weeks once we go to Penn State.”
West Virginia posted its first win in the women’s high jump thanks to sophomore Faith Penny. Penny took the victory, marking 1.71 meters.
Freshman Candace Jones finished first in the women’s 500-meter run with a time of 1:18.46. Sophomore Chaqieta Robinson followed in second place, crossing the finish line with a time of 1:19.22.
With a season-best time, junior Bria Welker finished second in the women’s 60-meter dash in 8.10, while junior Shamoya McNeil came in a close third with a career-best time of 8.11.
In relay competition, a West Virginia team of Jones, Welker, McNeil and Robinson finished first in the women’s 4x400-meters with a time of 4:11.00.
In the women’s long jump, junior Meghan Jean-Baptiste placed second with a mark of 4.87 meters and freshman Gina Cuneo, topping her season-best score, completed the long jump with a mark of 4.68 meters, placing her in third.
Jean-Baptiste also finished third in the women’s 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.56.
Junior Sara Finfrock finished second in the women’s pole vault with a mark of 3.65 meters. Freshman Alexis Baublitz and junior Rebekah Lafata tied for fourth with a mark of 3.50 meters, marking season-best marks for both. Freshman Greer Gumbrecht placed eighth, vaulting 3.20 meters.
In the women’s 200-meter dash, McNeil crossed the finish line in second with a time of 27.53.
Up next, the Mountaineers will travel to University Park, Pennsylvania, to compete at the PSU National Open on Jan. 27-28.
