Mountaineers Set for Mid-Atlantic Regional
November 08, 2018 12:17 PM | Cross Country
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University cross country team competes for a spot in the 2018 NCAA Cross Country Championships at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional in University Park, Pennsylvania, on Friday, Nov. 9.
The women's 6k race is set to begin at 12 p.m. ET at Penn State's Blue-White Golf Course. The Mountaineers are looking for their first bid to the national meet since 2014.
Results for the meet will be available at runhigh.com. Additional information on the Mid-Atlantic Regional can be found on the meet information page.
"When we first arrived at camp back in August, I think this team wanted to reestablish itself as one of the better teams on the East Coast," WVU coach Sean Cleary said. "To date, I feel extremely happy with the way we've been progressing. We fell one inch short at the Big 12 Championship from what I would've considered a perfect weekend, but the kids are ready.
"We ran at Penn State twice this year, and we know the course. This team's motto has been about having fun and going out and running hard. They know they are exceeding expectations, and they have done so all year, so we hope we have one more little jump in us this week and will come home doing whatever is required to put ourselves in a situation to be picked by the NCAA for the National Championship."
This year's regional meet will consist of 31 teams vying for the top-two spots and automatic bids to the 2018 NCAA Championships, which is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 17, in Madison, Wisconsin.
A total of 31 teams advance to the national meet, with 18 automatic bids (top-two teams in each of the nine regions) and 13 at-large bids up for grabs.
Additionally, a total of 38 individual runners will be selected to compete at nationals following team qualifications. The top-four finishers at each regional from non-qualifying teams receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships, as long as they finished in the top 25 at the regional meet. Two at-large bids for remaining runners in a national pool of top-25 regional finishers also will be selected.
The Mountaineers are one of four teams from the Mid-Atlantic Region that appeared in the most recent United States Track & Field and Cross Country (USTFCCCA) National Coaches Poll on Oct. 30. No. 8 Villanova and No. 13 Penn State were ranked in the poll, while Princeton and West Virginia received votes.
In the USTFCCCA regional rankings, WVU sits at No. 3, its highest ranking of the season, heading into Friday's meet.
Friday marks the 12th time the Mountaineers will compete at Penn State since 2014, including the third time this season. WVU placed fifth at the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational on Sept. 7, before it earned a sixth-place finish at the Penn State National Open on Oct. 12.
WVU finished seventh as a team at the Mid-Atlantic Regional last season, at Lehigh's Goodman Campus Cross Country Course in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Amy Cashin (18th place) and Maggie Drazba (19th) earned All-Mid-Atlantic Region honors for their top-25 finishes, marking West Virginia's 17th and 18th all-region accolades since 2012.
The Mountaineers last competed at the 2018 Big 12 Championship, at the ISU Cross Country Course in Ames, Iowa, on Oct. 26, recording a fourth-place team finish for the second consecutive season. Sophomore Hayley Jackson finished eighth overall in 20:42.0, earning All-Big 12 honors for a top-15 finish.
Redshirt junior Olivia Hill (18th place – 21:02.5) and freshman Charlotte Wood (19th – 21:04.4) also registered top-20 finishes at the meet.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUXCTF on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
The women's 6k race is set to begin at 12 p.m. ET at Penn State's Blue-White Golf Course. The Mountaineers are looking for their first bid to the national meet since 2014.
Results for the meet will be available at runhigh.com. Additional information on the Mid-Atlantic Regional can be found on the meet information page.
"When we first arrived at camp back in August, I think this team wanted to reestablish itself as one of the better teams on the East Coast," WVU coach Sean Cleary said. "To date, I feel extremely happy with the way we've been progressing. We fell one inch short at the Big 12 Championship from what I would've considered a perfect weekend, but the kids are ready.
"We ran at Penn State twice this year, and we know the course. This team's motto has been about having fun and going out and running hard. They know they are exceeding expectations, and they have done so all year, so we hope we have one more little jump in us this week and will come home doing whatever is required to put ourselves in a situation to be picked by the NCAA for the National Championship."
This year's regional meet will consist of 31 teams vying for the top-two spots and automatic bids to the 2018 NCAA Championships, which is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 17, in Madison, Wisconsin.
A total of 31 teams advance to the national meet, with 18 automatic bids (top-two teams in each of the nine regions) and 13 at-large bids up for grabs.
Additionally, a total of 38 individual runners will be selected to compete at nationals following team qualifications. The top-four finishers at each regional from non-qualifying teams receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships, as long as they finished in the top 25 at the regional meet. Two at-large bids for remaining runners in a national pool of top-25 regional finishers also will be selected.
The Mountaineers are one of four teams from the Mid-Atlantic Region that appeared in the most recent United States Track & Field and Cross Country (USTFCCCA) National Coaches Poll on Oct. 30. No. 8 Villanova and No. 13 Penn State were ranked in the poll, while Princeton and West Virginia received votes.
In the USTFCCCA regional rankings, WVU sits at No. 3, its highest ranking of the season, heading into Friday's meet.
Friday marks the 12th time the Mountaineers will compete at Penn State since 2014, including the third time this season. WVU placed fifth at the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational on Sept. 7, before it earned a sixth-place finish at the Penn State National Open on Oct. 12.
WVU finished seventh as a team at the Mid-Atlantic Regional last season, at Lehigh's Goodman Campus Cross Country Course in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Amy Cashin (18th place) and Maggie Drazba (19th) earned All-Mid-Atlantic Region honors for their top-25 finishes, marking West Virginia's 17th and 18th all-region accolades since 2012.
The Mountaineers last competed at the 2018 Big 12 Championship, at the ISU Cross Country Course in Ames, Iowa, on Oct. 26, recording a fourth-place team finish for the second consecutive season. Sophomore Hayley Jackson finished eighth overall in 20:42.0, earning All-Big 12 honors for a top-15 finish.
Redshirt junior Olivia Hill (18th place – 21:02.5) and freshman Charlotte Wood (19th – 21:04.4) also registered top-20 finishes at the meet.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUXCTF on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
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