Mountaineers Repeat as Mid-Atlantic Regional Champions, Secure NCAA Championship Berth
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University women’s cross country team emphatically repeated as Mid-Atlantic Region Champions on Friday, securing their second consecutive title and an automatic qualification for the NCAA Championship. The Mountaineers dominated the field,totaling 56 team points.
This victory marks a period of sustained success for the WVU program, demonstrating its growing prominence on the national stage. The team’s performance not only earns them a trip to the NCAA Championship in columbia, Missouri, on November 22, but also solidifies their position as a regional powerhouse.
Leading the charge was Joy Naukot, who shattered both the course record and tied the Mid-Atlantic Region meet record with a winning time of 19:11.8 – a personal best. Mercy Kinyanjui closely followed, also achieving a personal best of 19:22.5 and surpassing the previous course record.
Lexi Lamb contributed another personal best, finishing sixth in 19:43.3, while Emily Bryce placed 19th with a time of 20:03.8. All four runners – Naukot, Kinyanjui, Lamb, and Bryce – earned All-Region honors for their outstanding performances. Anastasia Chepkorir rounded out the scoring for West Virginia, running her best time as a Mountaineer with a 28th-place finish in 20:26.6.
Further bolstering the team’s impressive showing, Tatiana Moura set a personal best of 21:08.1 for 47th place, and Mary Delaney also achieved a personal best, finishing 59th in 21:23.
Fans can find more data on the Mountaineers at WVUsports.com and can follow the team on X (@WVUXCTF), Facebook (/WVUXCTF), and instagram (@wvuxctf).
