By Kelly Tuckwiller for MSNsportsNET.com
October 31, 2009
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 4 West Virginia University cross country team finished second this afternoon at the BIG EAST Championship held at the Wayne E. Dannehl National XC Course in Milwaukee, Wis.
The Mountaineers finished at the No. 2 spot for the second-straight year. Villanova took first with 30 points, while WVU followed with 74, Syracuse with 84, Georgetown with 92 and Providence with 108.
"We have mixed feelings about today's race," coach Sean Cleary says. "On one hand finishing second at the BIG EAST Championship is a great team result for us. With that said, I felt we ran uninspired. We have not had a bad race in four years and chose today to come up short. For this team to move back into the top few teams in the country, we need to regain our focus and competitive spirit."
Senior led the Mountaineers with a fifth-place overall finish, as she crossed the line at 21:20, respectively, while seniors Marie-Louise Asselin and Keri Bland followed in seventh (21:26) and 13th (21:46). Clara Grandt
Also racing well and scoring for WVU were juniors Kate Harrison and Kaylyn Christopher. Harrison finished 21th and Christopher crossed the line in 28th (22:19).
Juniors and Maria Dalzot competed and finished in 30th (22:20) and 35th (22:27). Jessica O'Connell
Villanova took the title for the second year in a row as it placed three girls in the top five, including Sheila Reid who finished as the BIG EAST Individual Champion (20:46).
For complete results, visit, www.bigeast.org.
The Mountaineers’ season continues on Nov. 14, as they compete in the NCAA Regionals in Princess Anne, Md.