MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University Cross Country Team No.
Redshirt junior Ceili McCabe crossed the finish line first for the Mountaineers with a time of 20:03.2, earning First Team All-American honors and 22nd for the team. Redshirt senior Charlotte Wood followed McCabe, earning 96th place for the team in a personal best time of 20:43.8.
“It is very clear that Ceili will be disappointed with this performance, as no one had higher expectations than her for this competition,” said the coach. Sean Cleary said. “That being said, Ceili came out of the season healthier than he started it and brings home another first team All-American.”
Upper Sixth Year Mikaela Lucki finished third for the Highlanders and 102nd overall for the team with a time of 20:46.9, while the redshirt junior Katherine Dowie ran the 6k in 21:13.2 and came in 155th for the team. Redshirt junior Jeanne Reix-Charat finished top-five for WVU with a time of 21:42.7, earning 187th place for West Virginia and senior redshirt Mikenna Vanderheyden followed right behind her at 188th for the team. Redshirt Sophomore Abbey Yuhaz suffered an injury during the race and did not finish.
West Virginia finished 27th with 562 points. WVU qualified for the national meet after four Mountaineers finished in the top-25 to earn All-Mid-Atlantic Region honors and lift West Virginia to second in the region. Saturday’s contest marked the third consecutive year that WVU has competed in the National Championship, the longest consecutive streak since 2007-2011.
“This is the highest quality racing in the world,” Cleary said. “While we had higher goals for the day and missed those goals by the slimmest of margins, the reality is that we will leave Stillwater still very happy to have qualified to stay in line with the best young runners in world, but frustrated that we didn’t get a little more of ourselves.”
No. 1 NC State took first place behind sophomore runner Katlyn Tuohy, who took home the individual title. Big 12 Conference foe, No. 3, Oklahoma State finished fourth. A total of 254 athletes and 31 teams participated in this competition.
“On the right track,” Cleary said.
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