Mountaineers Make Statement Performance Last Friday Morning in Wisconsin
October 12, 2026 11:24 AM | Cross Country
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – We have arrived at the time of year when cross country coaches must begin showing their cards.
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West Virginia's Sean Cleary demonstrated last Friday morning at the Nuttycombe Invitational that he's holding a few aces up his sleeve, not to mention some queens as well.
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The ninth-ranked Mountaineers used their entire roster for the first time this fall to defeat a packed field of 17 ranked teams in runaway fashion in Madison, Wisconsin.
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West Virginia's 45 team points were 66 better than second-place Florida, which came into the race ranked 13th in the country. WVU also bested No. 3 Northern Arizona, No. 4 New Mexico, No. 5 Iowa State and 11 other ranked teams on the way to top honors.
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Eighth-ranked Oklahoma State was a late scratch from the event after previously committing to run in the race.
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Top-ranked NC State, second-ranked BYU, No. 6 Oregon and No. 7 Notre Dame are expected to take their full rosters to Terre Haute, Indiana, this Friday for the Under Armour Pre-National Invitational taking place at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course, site of this year's NCAA championships on Saturday, Nov. 21.
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Cleary also considered taking his best runners out to Terre Haute to race on the national championship course this Friday but remained committed to the Nuttycombe Invitational out of respect to Ed Nuttycombe, the event's namesake.
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A scheduling conflict required the Nuttycombe to run last week instead of going head-to-head with the Pre-Nationals this Friday.
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In the meantime, Cleary had his "B" team perform at the John McNichols Invitational in Terre Haute on Sept. 19 and took his remaining runners out there for a workout on the course.
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He said it's been a while since West Virginia has raced in Terre Haute, so he wanted to refamiliarize himself with the course setup and also get reacquainted with the town and the surrounding area.
Â
Cleary calls the LaVern Gibson Championship course "gently rolling" with plenty of room at the beginning of the race for the lead runners to separate from the pack.
Â
"There is about 100 meters of room for the first 1,100 meters of the race," he said, mentioning that the course does have a hill but it's not like the hills on which his runners train in Morgantown.
Â
The way the cross country season sets up, the Nuttycombe and Under Armour Pre-Nationals are the two marquee midseason races used to help sort out the national championship picture.
Â
With last Friday's performance, West Virginia has emphatically put its name into the conversation.
Â
The Mountaineers had five top-25 performers, led by returning All-American Joy Naukot's fifth-place finish in a time of 19:22.6. Placing less than a second behind Naukot was teammate Mercy Kinyanjui at 19:23.3, followed by Sheila Chepkirui three seconds later in 11th.
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Naomi Kemboi finished 19th and emerging senior Lexi Lamb, from nearby Doddridge County High, placed 25th with a 19:47 clocking.
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"Lexi ran great," Cleary said.
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The veteran coach said he was apprehensive going into the race because this was the first time this fall his top runners were performing together, and he was pleased to see four of them within 2½ seconds of each other in the lead pack at the 2K mark.
Â
Also giving him encouragement was the performance of sophomore Chiara Judis in the "B" race later that afternoon. The Berlin, Germany, resident placed fourth with a time of 20:40.8 and now gives him another quality option to consider for the three biggest remaining races of the season.
Â
Judis puts her name in the hat along with seniors Emily Bryce (44th, 20:13.4) and Anastasia Chepkorir (112th, 20:58.0) for the top seven runners making up the five scoring spots in the championship races, the first one happening at the end of this month at the Big 12 Championships in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Â
"This is the deepest team we've ever had," Clearly admits.
Â
That's a noteworthy comment considering the Mountaineers placed second at the NCAA Championships two years ago when they were only 17 points behind national champion BYU that day.
Â
The Nuttycombe is one of four big races for West Virginia in a six-week period. In addition to the Big 12 Championships on Oct. 31, the Mountaineers will compete in the Mid-Atlantic Championships in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on Friday, November 13 – eight days before the national championships.
Â
Because the cross country season is essentially condensed to a six-week period of grueling races, coaches frequently choose to hold out their top performers until October. Cleary indicated he began doing this about 10 or 15 years ago and continues the practice.
Â
The coach said he expects his team to be ranked "somewhere in the top five" when the new rankings are revealed Tuesday, perhaps as high as No. 3 behind NC State and BYU.
Â
The Wolfpack and the Cougars are considered the two deepest teams in the country with 10+ quality runners each, but Cleary is confident his four and five runners are comparable to anyone's in the country.
Â
When your top three runners perform to their capabilities, it ultimately comes down to the final two scorers in determining team titles.
Â
West Virginia is now among a group of about five or six teams with legitimate NCAA title hopes based on last Friday's victory, which ranks as the best in school history topping the Mountaineers' Mid-Atlantic championship two years ago at Penn State.
Â
Last Friday, West Virginia was among the first of the nation's top programs to put all of its cards out on the table.
Â
The remaining ones will follow suit later this week.
Â
Â
West Virginia's Sean Cleary demonstrated last Friday morning at the Nuttycombe Invitational that he's holding a few aces up his sleeve, not to mention some queens as well.
Â
The ninth-ranked Mountaineers used their entire roster for the first time this fall to defeat a packed field of 17 ranked teams in runaway fashion in Madison, Wisconsin.
Â
West Virginia's 45 team points were 66 better than second-place Florida, which came into the race ranked 13th in the country. WVU also bested No. 3 Northern Arizona, No. 4 New Mexico, No. 5 Iowa State and 11 other ranked teams on the way to top honors.Â
Eighth-ranked Oklahoma State was a late scratch from the event after previously committing to run in the race.
Â
Top-ranked NC State, second-ranked BYU, No. 6 Oregon and No. 7 Notre Dame are expected to take their full rosters to Terre Haute, Indiana, this Friday for the Under Armour Pre-National Invitational taking place at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course, site of this year's NCAA championships on Saturday, Nov. 21.
Â
Cleary also considered taking his best runners out to Terre Haute to race on the national championship course this Friday but remained committed to the Nuttycombe Invitational out of respect to Ed Nuttycombe, the event's namesake.
Â
A scheduling conflict required the Nuttycombe to run last week instead of going head-to-head with the Pre-Nationals this Friday.
Â
In the meantime, Cleary had his "B" team perform at the John McNichols Invitational in Terre Haute on Sept. 19 and took his remaining runners out there for a workout on the course.
Â
He said it's been a while since West Virginia has raced in Terre Haute, so he wanted to refamiliarize himself with the course setup and also get reacquainted with the town and the surrounding area.
Â
Cleary calls the LaVern Gibson Championship course "gently rolling" with plenty of room at the beginning of the race for the lead runners to separate from the pack.
Â
"There is about 100 meters of room for the first 1,100 meters of the race," he said, mentioning that the course does have a hill but it's not like the hills on which his runners train in Morgantown.
Â
The way the cross country season sets up, the Nuttycombe and Under Armour Pre-Nationals are the two marquee midseason races used to help sort out the national championship picture.
Â
With last Friday's performance, West Virginia has emphatically put its name into the conversation.
Â
The Mountaineers had five top-25 performers, led by returning All-American Joy Naukot's fifth-place finish in a time of 19:22.6. Placing less than a second behind Naukot was teammate Mercy Kinyanjui at 19:23.3, followed by Sheila Chepkirui three seconds later in 11th.
Â
Naomi Kemboi finished 19th and emerging senior Lexi Lamb, from nearby Doddridge County High, placed 25th with a 19:47 clocking.
Â
"Lexi ran great," Cleary said.
Â
The veteran coach said he was apprehensive going into the race because this was the first time this fall his top runners were performing together, and he was pleased to see four of them within 2½ seconds of each other in the lead pack at the 2K mark.
Â
Also giving him encouragement was the performance of sophomore Chiara Judis in the "B" race later that afternoon. The Berlin, Germany, resident placed fourth with a time of 20:40.8 and now gives him another quality option to consider for the three biggest remaining races of the season.
Â
Judis puts her name in the hat along with seniors Emily Bryce (44th, 20:13.4) and Anastasia Chepkorir (112th, 20:58.0) for the top seven runners making up the five scoring spots in the championship races, the first one happening at the end of this month at the Big 12 Championships in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Â
"This is the deepest team we've ever had," Clearly admits.
Â
That's a noteworthy comment considering the Mountaineers placed second at the NCAA Championships two years ago when they were only 17 points behind national champion BYU that day.
Â
The Nuttycombe is one of four big races for West Virginia in a six-week period. In addition to the Big 12 Championships on Oct. 31, the Mountaineers will compete in the Mid-Atlantic Championships in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on Friday, November 13 – eight days before the national championships.
Â
Because the cross country season is essentially condensed to a six-week period of grueling races, coaches frequently choose to hold out their top performers until October. Cleary indicated he began doing this about 10 or 15 years ago and continues the practice.
Â
The coach said he expects his team to be ranked "somewhere in the top five" when the new rankings are revealed Tuesday, perhaps as high as No. 3 behind NC State and BYU.
Â
The Wolfpack and the Cougars are considered the two deepest teams in the country with 10+ quality runners each, but Cleary is confident his four and five runners are comparable to anyone's in the country.
Â
When your top three runners perform to their capabilities, it ultimately comes down to the final two scorers in determining team titles.
Â
West Virginia is now among a group of about five or six teams with legitimate NCAA title hopes based on last Friday's victory, which ranks as the best in school history topping the Mountaineers' Mid-Atlantic championship two years ago at Penn State.
Â
Last Friday, West Virginia was among the first of the nation's top programs to put all of its cards out on the table.
Â
The remaining ones will follow suit later this week.
Â
Players Mentioned
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