Cross Country: Victory at the Penn State National

By Daniel Whitehead for WVUsports.com
October 14, 2011 04:54 PM

Kate Harrison

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Securing the top two placements and five in the top 25, the No. 19 West Virginia cross country team beat two nationally ranked opponents en route to its first team victory of the year Friday morning at the Penn State National in University Park, Pa.

Under a steady rainfall and tough course conditions, the Mountaineers won the 6k race with 45 points, led by first- and second-place finishers Kate Harrison and Kaitlyn Gillespie, who paced the course in 20:50 and 20:53, respectively. The Mountaineers overcame Connecticut (70 points), No. 20 Penn State (77), No. 26 Duke (91), Grand Valley State (171), Miami of Ohio (211), and 23 other schools for the win.

“We are happy with today’s result,” says WVU coach Sean Cleary. “It has been two years since we won a big invitational as a team, so this was a pleasing run. Our depth was a little stronger this week."

Redshirt junior Sarah-Anne Brault arrived third for the team in sixth place with a time of 21:21, while redshirt senior Ahna Lewis followed closely behind in 11th place in 21:41. Redshirt senior Kaylyn Christopher also scored team points with a 25th-place finish in 22:16.

“Watching Kate (Harrison) and Katie (Gillespie) out in front controlling this field shows how things have been progressing for us,” Cleary says. “We know exactly where we need to improve on this result. This is a nice tune up for the BIG EAST in a couple of weeks.”

Several other Mountaineers competed and had solid finishes, including redshirt junior Stephanie Aldea in 35th place in 22:26 and redshirt junior Jordan Hamric in 59th place in 23:05.

Teammates Hallie Portner (83rd, 23:23), Aubrey Moskal (90th, 23:28), Sarah Martinelli (94th, 23:33), Chelsea Jarvis (124th, 23:52) and Stephanie Caruso (152nd, 24:19) also raced at the event.

The Mountaineers next compete at the BIG EAST Conference Championship on Oct. 29 in Louisville, Ky.

2011 Penn State National

Women’s 6k race
1 … West Virginia … 45
2 … Connecticut … 70
3 … No. 20 Penn State … 77
4 … No. 26 Duke … 91
5 … Grand Valley St. … 171
6 … Miami (Ohio) … 211
7 … Penn … 289
8 … Ferris State … 308
9 … Duquesne … 343
10 … Montana State … 355
11 … Bucknell … 373
12 … Youngstown St. … 384
13 … Lehigh … 390
14 … Colgate … 391
15 … Loyola (Md) … 415
16 … Towson … 416
17 … Mansfield … 425
18 … Lock Haven … 459
19 … Buffalo … 530
20 … Rider … 549
21 … Akron … 567
22 … Robert Morris … 592
23 … Indiana (Pa) … 670
24 … Carnegie Mellon … 676
25 … Cleveland St. … 731
26 … Florida Int'l … 732
27 … Temple … 734
28 … Wofford … 737
29 … Hofstra … 876

West Virginia
1 … Kate Harrison, Sr … 20:50
2 … Kaitlyn Gillespie, Jr … 20:53
6 … Sarah-Anne Brault, Jr … 21:21
11 … Ahna Lewis, Sr … 21:41
25 … Kaylyn Christopher, Sr … 22:16
35 … Stephanie Aldea, Jr … 22:26
59 … Jordan Hamric, Jr … 23:05
83 … Hallie Portner, Jr … 23:23
90 … Aubrey Moskal, Jr … 23:28
94 … Sarah Martinelli, So … 23:33
124 … Chelsea Jarvis, So … 23:52
152 … Stephanie Caruso, Sr … 24:19

Tags
Sean Cleary, WVU Cross Country

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