BRIDGEPORT, W. Va. — The Davis & Elkins, the University of Charleston, and individual runners from the women’s teams at UC and West Virginia Wesleyan will represent the Mountain East Conference at Saturday’s 2024 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships.
The national meet will be held at Arcade Creek Cross Country Course in Sacramento, California, on Saturday morning. The 10,000-meter men’s championship race is set to begin at 10 a.m., while the 6,000-meter women’s championship race will follow at 11:15 a.m.
The Davis & Elkins men’s and women’s teams qualified for the field, as well as the UC men. Additionally, UC’s Beth Sykes and West Virginia Wesleyan’s Leigha Hall also qualified after regional competition.
The Senators enter nationals with historic momentum after sweeping the NCAA Atlantic Region team titles in men’s and women’s competitions. The D&E men edged Shippensburg to win the Atlantic Region crown and qualify its entire squad for Saturday’s national meet. The Davis & Elkins women won the Atlantic Region team championship by holding off Slippery Rock for the title.
Davis & Elkins’ Jan Thewes, who won the MEC men’s individual title and captured MEC Runner of the Year honors, finished first in the Atlantic Region.
Sykes and Hall qualified as individuals as at-large competitors. Hall finished third in the Atlantic Region, while Sykes placed fourth.
In order to be eligible to participate in the championships, teams and individuals had to qualify in their respective NCAA regional competitions that were held this past weekend. Thirty-four teams were selected to participate in each championship. The top three, seven-person teams automatically qualified from each of the eight regions, for a total of 24 teams. Ten additional teams were selected at-large. A minimum of 24 additional individuals were selected to participate in each championship through an automatic qualifier and at-large selection process.
A live stream of the championships will occur on www.NCAA.com until the conclusion of the awards ceremony.
MEC Women’s Cross Country
Start List/Bib Numbers
Davis & Elkins
535 — Zoe Belshan
536 — Lydia Falkenstein
537 — Savanna Hardman
538 — Ella Hesson
539 — Brooke Jacobs
540 — Sierra Taylor
541 — Rebecca Tellez
542 — Lauren Twyman
543 — Alina Vallentgoed
544 — Cameryn Wheeler
Charleston
472 — Beth Sykes
West Virginia Wesleyan
737 — Leigha Hall
MEC Men’s Cross Country
Start List/Bib Numbers
Charleston
99 — Zane Chalker
100 — Cole Friend
101 — Jules Geffroy-Remot
102 — Samuel Idiens
103 — Alex Jackson
104 — Carter Lipscomb
105 — Brady Miller
106 — Matthew O'Shea
107 — Corey Schobelock
108 — Louis Starr
109 — Ashton Weaver
Davis & Elkins
149 — Konnor Allison
150 — Gabe Conder
151 — Cooper Gibson
152 — Jackson Gibson
153 — Christopher Lucas
154 — Carter McKenna
155 — Charlie Stephenson
156 — Slate Swiger
157 — Jan Thewes
158 — Jordan Thomas