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WVU cross country ranks No. 1 in the Mid-Atlantic Region

The West Virginia University cross country team ranks No. 1 in this week’s Mid-Atlantic Region United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) weekly rankings.
 
The Mountaineers rank first in the Mid-Atlantic Region for the first time since 2009. The same year, the squad finished sixth in the NCAA Championships.
 
Following the Mountaineers are Villanova in second, Georgetown in third and Princeton in fourth. Penn State rounds out the top-five.
 
As a team, the Mountaineers saw a 19th-place team finish at the Nuttycombe Invitational, on Friday, Oct. 15, in Madison, Wisconsin. WVU was one of 36 schools racing with a total of 267 runners.

Junior Ceili McCabe led the team with a first-place finish in a 6K time of 19:57.4.

Six Mountaineers competed at the Nuttycombe Invitational, including redshirt junior Katherine Dowie, redshirt junior Mikaela Lucki, fifth-year senior Sylvia Russell, fifth-year senior Hayley Jackson and sophomore Maria Kaylor
 
WVU is one of four Big 12 programs ranked in the top-five in its respective regions this week, along with Oklahoma State (Midwest – 2nd), Iowa State (Midwest – 3rd) and Texas (South Central – 4th).
 
The USTFCCCA Regional Cross Country Coaches’ Rankings are determined subjectively by a single member coach in each respective region. The regional representative is tasked with weighing returning teams’ strength with current season results (if applicable) in determining a rank-order of squad potential. Only USTFCCCA member programs are eligible to receive a ranking. Teams with provisional status within the region may be ranked.
 
Looking ahead, WVU is off until it begins its postseason in Stillwater, Oklahoma, at the Big 12 Championships, on Friday, Oct. 29, at the OSU Cross Country Course. The race is set to begin at 11 a.m. ET.

For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUXCTF on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.