Moon Twp., PA. - After having their first race of the year canceled due to rain, the Wheeling University Women's Cross Country team took the course for the first time on Friday at Robert Morris. It was a wide competition field, with schools from across all three levels of the NCAA showing up, as the Cardinals placed 11th in the field. Wheeling would place one runner in the top 100 of the event, getting the new year started on the right foot.
Leading the effort for the Cardinals was Madison Conrad, who finished 99th in the field with a time of 26:51.0. In a field that consisted of four teams from the Mountain East Conference (MEC), Conrad would finish 16th among the conference field, and in the top 30 among her NCAA DII competition. On a course that was soaked with mud, Conrad would work the hills to set a bench mark that was just two minutes shy of her time at both the MEC Championships and the Regional Championships from a season ago. She was the only Cardinal to crack the top 100 and looks to continue leading the team throughout the year.
Finishing just behind her was Jade Trowell, who continued her momentum from outdoor Track season, finishing 121st with a time of 29:39.02. She would set her new 6K PR right off the bat, dropping her time by nearly a full minute to start the year. Trowell came in under the 30 minute mark for the first time in her career and looks to continue building on her success. Rounding out the top three for the Cardinals was Luci Banks, who finished 123rd with a time of 31:12.7. Banks was consistently in the top three for the Cardinals during her freshman season and finished just one minute shy of her 6K run at last seasons MEC Conference Championships.
The final two runners for the Cardinals were Miracle Jones and Jezabella Cohen, finishing 125th and 126th respectively. Jones would compete in her first collegiate race, and finished 124th overall with a time of 32:19.96 to start her career. Jezabella Cohen would round out the day, taking 125th with a time of 33:15.27 to finish the day.
The Wheeling University Women's Cross Country team returns to action on Saturday, September 26th, when they run at the Youngstown State Invitational.
