PITTSBURGH, Pa. — The West Virginia Wesleyan College women's cross country team turned in a strong collective effort at the CMU Invitational, earning a fifth-place team finish out of 19 scoring programs. The Bobcats posted a team score of
163 points and a cumulative team time of
1:32:44.2 over the 5K course at Schenley Park.
Wesleyan was a top Mountain East Conference (MEC) representative in the field, finishing just behind Point Park (4th, 114 pts) and ahead of Glenville State (6th, 172 pts). The event featured competitors from programs across NCAA Division II and III, including Edinboro, Ashland, and Slippery Rock, who took the top three team spots
Individual Highlights
Junior
Lindsey Dillon paced the Bobcats with a standout performance, placing
9th overall with a time of
17:51.8, less than a minute off the winning pace set by Glenville State's Natalie Barr (17:06.7).
Junior
Mariam Al-Zoubi followed closely behind in
19th at
18:12.5, marking her best collegiate finish to date.
Senior
Marimo Akita added crucial team points, clocking
18:29.3 for
29th place, while
Sofia Pancoast finished
47th in
18:58.6.
Rounding out Wesleyan's top five,
Dakota Johnson crossed the line in
59th at
19:12.0, securing the team's total score of 163
Two additional Bobcats contributed strong efforts for depth scoring:
Taylor Hess finished
68th (19:28.9), and
Jessica Williams placed
98th (20:48.5). Wesleyan's top-five gap was just 1:21, reflecting one of the tightest packs in the field.
The Bobcats will continue their fall season at the
Mountain East Conference Championships later this month, where they'll look to build on their momentum and challenge for a podium finish.
Top WVWC Finishers:
