McDaniel takes runner of the year awards
Athens, WV – For team honors, the ladies race was one of the closest and most exciting races a cross country fan could experience. Both West Virginia Wesleyan and Alderson-Broaddus had tight packs running in the front of the race. The slow and difficult 5K course would have both teams at times seemingly in the lead. The University of Charleston Golden Eagles was in the mix with their tight pack of runners. In the end, the West Virginia Wesleyan lady Bobcats would edge the Battlers of Alderson-Broaddus by only 2 points by a score of 37 points to 39 points. University of Charleston would finish a solid 3rd with 54 points.
Heather McDaniel of Alderson-Broaddus captured the individual title in the 5K race with a time of 19:33. Next, came two West Virginia Wesleyan runners, Stephanie Hatfield (19:41) and Missy Spangler (19:42). Three seconds back, Alderson-Broaddus' Amanda Maxwell (19:45) would take 4th place. At this point the two teams were tied. West Virginia Wesleyan would take the lead as Leah Erenrich came across in 5th two seconds back in 19:47. Alderson Broaddus came right back and took a big lead as their #3 (Katrina Jones-20:03) and #4 (Ashley Varian- 20:10) runners would finish in 7th and 8th place respectively. In the meantime, the University of Charleston ladies made it interesting as they put 4 runners in the top 11. Hope Noland finished a strong 6th in 19:57 while Rachel (20:13) and Erin Cipolat (20:20) gave the Golden Eagles 3 All-Conference runners. At this point, Alderson Broaddus needed only 1 more runner to finish while West Virginia Wesleyan needed 2 runners to finish. However, Allison Teter would lead a wall of Bobcats across the line as they took places 13th through 16th to seal the victory. Teter would also receive the rookie of the year honors.
Jesse Skiles of West Virginia Wesleyan accepted the Coach of the year award and McDaniel would take the runner of the year award. Next up is the NCAA Division 2 East Region from Loch Haven, Pennsylvania on November 5th.