• Championship Central
• Course Flyover: Men’s | Women’s
The 2019 Mountain East Conference Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships return to Oglebay Resort (Crispin Golf Course) in Wheeling, W.Va., this weekend.
Admission to the event is $10 per car (cash only). The women’s 6,000-meter race will begin at 9:30 a.m., followed by the men’s 8,000-meter race at 10:30 a.m. Awards will begin at 11:30 a.m.
For the first time in league history, the races will be streamed live on MountainEast.tv. Former Concord cross country and track runner and current Mountain Lion Sports Information Director Wes McKinney will provide coverage on behalf of the league.
Women’s Preview
Davis & Elkins heads into the championship as the favorite to win the MEC title in its first appearance at the championship. The Senators are ranked No. 1 in the Atlantic Region (and are receiving votes nationally) with a lineup consisting of mostly freshmen.
Leading the way is Svea Timm. The Jork, Germany, native is a two-time MEC Runner of the Week as a freshman for the D&E. She posted her fastest 5k time of the year two weeks ago in Charlotte (18:07.7), and took eighth at the Lock Haven Open a month ago with a 6k time of 21:25.5. Teammates Anya Miller and Madison Michels were also well under 19 minutes in Charlotte and look to race up front on Saturday. Claire Otte won the Bethany Invitational to open the season for D&E.
Kasey McNamara, the MEC Runner and Freshman of the Year a season ago, and teammate Olivia Underwood will help Charleston contend for its first MEC women’s title. Returners Cami Wagner and Denise Ruiz also earned All-MEC honors last season to help provide depth for the Golden Eagles.
Aidan Payton is the lone returner from last year’s Concord team that won its first women’s cross country title. Payton finished 11th in the race last year. Wheeling’s Lindsay Scheffel surprised the field last year by winning last year’s championship race, while her teammate Jordan Delaney came in third, and both will be in the field again on Saturday. Scheffel recently established a new personal best in the 5k with a time of 19:32.3 at the Carnegie Mellon Invitational two weeks ago. Delaney was nearly under 19 minutes at the Louisville Classic several weeks back.
West Virginia Wesleyan hasn’t raced since Oct. 5 when it finished fifth at the Race In the Park hosted by Mercyhurst. Tori Carr, who took eighth last year, was the team’s top finisher in the race taking sixth with a time of 19:58.5. Madison Frame, who was fifth a season ago at the MEC Championships, finished beside teammate Rachael Englund in the race with times of 20:27. Englund was 18th at the MEC Championships last season.
Fairmont State junior Emily Maddow has put together back-to-back first team all-conference performances in her first two seasons for the Falcons. She leads a three-person pack with Julianna Butcher and Bayley Wellings as Fairmont State will try to improve upon its fifth-place finish at last year’s championship.
West Liberty was sixth at the championship last year, and has back Hannah Ramirez and Emily Louk, who earned All-MEC honors a season ago. Freshman Hannah Kemp, though, has led the way for WLU this year posting an impressive top 25 finish at the Louisville Classic going under 19 minutes on the 5,000-meter course. Freshmen Nichole Groseclose and Bailee Upole also have turned in solid seasons for the Hilltoppers.
Glenville State’s Jahnvi Duncan has been the top runner for the Pioneers this season and looks to improve on her 48th-place finish last season. Urbana freshman Darshay Foster has been the team’s top runner this fall, followed by senior Ashlynn Miller who 52nd last year at the championship. Sydney Bates, a former women’s basketball standout, leads West Virginia State. She had a personal best time of 21:25 in a 5k a month ago. Sierra Womack has been the No. 2 runner for the Yellow Jackets and shaved over three minutes of her 5k time from last season.
Frostburg State lists just four runners on the roster under first-year head coach Shane Brookshire. The Bobcats, led by a pair of freshmen in Isabel Pereira and Ariyana Ward, are making their first appearance at the MEC Championships.
Men’s Preview
Like D&E on the women’s side, the University of Charleston is the pre-race favorite heading into the weekend. The Golden Eagles return several key components from last year’s squad that captured its first-ever MEC Cross Country title, won the Atlantic Region and finished 22nd in the country.
UC has been ranked as high as ninth in the nation this fall -- the highest ranking for an MEC program -- and has been ranked as the No. 1 team in the Atlantic Region all season long. The Golden Eagles had strong team finishes at the Travecca Nazarene D2 Showcase (2nd) and the Royals Cross Country Challenge (4th) ahead of several nationally ranked teams.
All-America Jack Mastandrea has continued his momentum from last season’s strong outdoor performance that saw him finish fourth in the 10,000 meters. According to TheStrideReport.com, Mastandrea is considered to be a candidate for a top-five finish at the NCAA Championships. He was second at the Royals Cross Country Challenge running a blistering 23:41 on the 8,000-meter course and was also runner-up at the D2 Showcase.
UC added junior college All-American Kyle Hinson to its lineup this season as well. Hinson has had an impressive first season for the Golden Eagles running 24:34 at the Royals Challenge. Alex Kitony has been closing the gap on Hinson, and Stephen Korir, David Cecchi, Connor Kaufman and Cameron Lee can score for the team on any given race.
Davis & Elkins will look to make a push in its first appearance at the MEC Championships. The Senators are currently ranked fourth in the Atlantic Region in the USTFCCCA poll. D&E has won two events this fall (Route 33 Cup and the Bethany Invitational). Matthew Chapman won the Route 33 Cup individual race, and was the top finisher from the MEC (eighth) at the Lock Haven Invitational, just ahead of teammate Aidan Konhaus. Recently at the Royals Challenge, Scott Barker was the top finisher for D&E taking 53rd with a time of 25:15, followed by Konhaus (25:26).
Concord is just one spot behind Davis & Elkins in the Atlantic Region poll. Samuel Haynes was sixth in the race a season ago as a sophomore, and will be joined by Cedric Drennen and Nate Leichner to help make a push for a top finish for the Mountain Lions.
West Liberty, which was third in this meet a season ago, has been in and out of the regional poll this season. WLU’s top two finishers from a season ago are redshirting this year, but still has plenty of young talent to compete in sophomores Michael Harriman (second team All-MEC last season), Danah Phillips and Jared Ullom. Phillips ran 25:25 at Louisville, and Harriman was the top finisher for WLU last week at Carnegie Mellon with a time of 26:56 and also had an impressive 14th-place finish at Lock Haven.
West Virginia Wesleyan was fourth at last year’s championship, but turned over a majority of its roster. The Bobcats have been led by sophomore Ryan Hebb, who was 17th a season ago at the MEC Championships, and freshman Tyler Channell.
Devin Rich earned first-team All-MEC honors a season ago and helped Wheeling to a fifth-place finish. He’s coming off a personal-best time of 26:13.2 for 8,000-meters a few weeks ago at the Louisville Invitational. Junior Tyler Stewart also competed at the championship last year and finished 43rd.
Frostburg State’s Braxton Clark finished 28th at the Capital Athletic Conference (DIII) Championships last year, and has been the team’s top runner this season. He posted top 15 finishes at the Don Cathcart Invitational (26:15, 13th) and the Gettysburg Invitational (26:37, 15th). Jacob Rickards and Daniel Foster have also turned in strong seasons this fall for the Bobcats.
Freshman James Smoak will lead Fairmont State at this year’s championship. Smoak ran 27:48 at the Louisville Invitational. He’ll team up with sophomores Miguel Figueroa and Hunter Reed who had top 30 finishes for the Falcons at last year’s championship.
Glenville State freshman Christopher Chambers and sophomore Michael Null have paced the Pioneers this season. Null was 24th for GSC last season at the championship. Urbana returns its top runner from last season in Matthew Hull, who took 47th last season.