Friday, October 12
University Park, Pa.
10:45 a.m.
West Virginia University
at
Penn State National Open
WVU Caps Regular Season with Solid Showing
October 12, 2018 01:33 PM | Cross Country
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University cross country team closed the 2018 regular season with a sixth-place team finish at the Penn State National Open in University Park, Pennsylvania, on Friday morning.
Sophomore Hayley Jackson paced the Mountaineers in her season debut, finishing 13th overall. Jackson crossed the Blue-White Golf Course (6k) finish line in 20:59, ahead of redshirt junior Olivia Hill, who placed 28th in 21:12.
Sophomore Bree Warren was the third WVU finisher, as she earned a 47th-place finish in 21:26, while freshman Charlotte Wood placed 57th in 21:33. Redshirt sophomore Sarah Wills also scored for the Mountaineers, finishing in 76th place in 21:42.
Redshirt junior Candace Jones (21:47), redshirt sophomore Antigone Archer (22:00), redshirt freshman Marianne Abdalah (22:22) and freshmen Hannah Lipps (22:42) and Linda Jebet (23:29) also represented the Mountaineers in the race.
"A lot of people don't realize that the sport of cross country brings with it two sets of criteria for judgement – team success and individual successes determine how a group mood is when leaving a meet," WVU coach Sean Cleary said. "Today, we leave Penn State feeling very good about the team result. We know we can be better, but we are very satisfied with where we sit as we enter the championships portion of the schedule. For the most part, we had very strong performances by the vast majority of the team."
West Virginia earned 221 points as a team on Friday. No. 19 Penn State (62) won the meet, while No. 14 Michigan State (87) and No. 26 Georgia Tech (143) finished second and third. No. 29 Princeton (182) and Dartmouth (186) rounded out the top five.
Friday's meet featured 28 teams and 289 finishers. Nine of the top-15 teams in the Mid-Atlantic Region participated, and all five Power 5 conferences were represented. Additionally, seven schools at the meet are either ranked or received votes in this week's United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) national rankings.
"Overall, I would say that we have two or three things to tidy up over the next two weeks to be even better prepared for the Big 12 meet," Cleary said. "This was a very strong field of runners and teams today, and I am quite happy with how I felt we handled the stress and anxiety that can be felt in such a race."
The meet also marked WVU's 11th appearance at Penn State since 2014. The Mountaineers have competed at the PSU National Open in nine of the last 11 years, including each of the past four seasons.
Friday was the team's best finish at the meet since placing fourth in 2016.
WVU also visited University Park for the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational on Sept. 7, earning a fifth-place finish. West Virginia will return to the Blue-White Golf Course for a third time on Friday, Nov. 9, for the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional.
Next up, the Mountaineers will begin preparations for the postseason, which begins at the 2018 Big 12 Championship in Ames, Iowa. WVU finished fourth at the conference meet last season.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUXCTF on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Sophomore Hayley Jackson paced the Mountaineers in her season debut, finishing 13th overall. Jackson crossed the Blue-White Golf Course (6k) finish line in 20:59, ahead of redshirt junior Olivia Hill, who placed 28th in 21:12.
Sophomore Bree Warren was the third WVU finisher, as she earned a 47th-place finish in 21:26, while freshman Charlotte Wood placed 57th in 21:33. Redshirt sophomore Sarah Wills also scored for the Mountaineers, finishing in 76th place in 21:42.
Redshirt junior Candace Jones (21:47), redshirt sophomore Antigone Archer (22:00), redshirt freshman Marianne Abdalah (22:22) and freshmen Hannah Lipps (22:42) and Linda Jebet (23:29) also represented the Mountaineers in the race.
"A lot of people don't realize that the sport of cross country brings with it two sets of criteria for judgement – team success and individual successes determine how a group mood is when leaving a meet," WVU coach Sean Cleary said. "Today, we leave Penn State feeling very good about the team result. We know we can be better, but we are very satisfied with where we sit as we enter the championships portion of the schedule. For the most part, we had very strong performances by the vast majority of the team."
West Virginia earned 221 points as a team on Friday. No. 19 Penn State (62) won the meet, while No. 14 Michigan State (87) and No. 26 Georgia Tech (143) finished second and third. No. 29 Princeton (182) and Dartmouth (186) rounded out the top five.
Friday's meet featured 28 teams and 289 finishers. Nine of the top-15 teams in the Mid-Atlantic Region participated, and all five Power 5 conferences were represented. Additionally, seven schools at the meet are either ranked or received votes in this week's United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) national rankings.
"Overall, I would say that we have two or three things to tidy up over the next two weeks to be even better prepared for the Big 12 meet," Cleary said. "This was a very strong field of runners and teams today, and I am quite happy with how I felt we handled the stress and anxiety that can be felt in such a race."
The meet also marked WVU's 11th appearance at Penn State since 2014. The Mountaineers have competed at the PSU National Open in nine of the last 11 years, including each of the past four seasons.
Friday was the team's best finish at the meet since placing fourth in 2016.
WVU also visited University Park for the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational on Sept. 7, earning a fifth-place finish. West Virginia will return to the Blue-White Golf Course for a third time on Friday, Nov. 9, for the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional.
Next up, the Mountaineers will begin preparations for the postseason, which begins at the 2018 Big 12 Championship in Ames, Iowa. WVU finished fourth at the conference meet last season.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUXCTF on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Players Mentioned
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
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/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
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