HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University women's cross country team will run in a pair of two critical early season events Friday in both Virginia and North Carolina.
The team's top-6 runners will head to Earlysville, Va. to take part in the nationally-acclaimed Virginia/Panorama Farms Invitational at 10 a.m. The rest of the Panthers will make the short trip to Kernersville, N.C. to compete in the UNCG Spartan Invitational at 5 p.m.
The Panorama Farms meet includes a pair of nationally-ranked programs, including host No. 10 Virginia as well as No. 26 William & Mary. USTFCCCA regionally-ranked Southeast Region programs include Liberty (No. 10), Furman (No. 12), Wake Forest (No. 13) and Clemson (No. 14). In addition, Auburn is ranked No. 2 in the South Region, while Iona is ranked No. 12 in the Northeast and Arizona sits at No. 11 in the West Region.
"This is a really good opportunity for the girls to compete against national-caliber athletes," head coach
Jenna Wrieden said. "They need that exposure. We have a lot of individual goals to compete up front with some better athletes. We also have the team goal of keeping the top-5 pack really tight in a much higher-level meet, which is a lot harder to do because there's more runners and they tend to spread out. I'm excited to see if they can bring that same small meet mentality to a bigger nationally-renowned meet."
The HPU contingent of six will include seniors
Leah Anne Wirfel and
Krista Willard, junior
Katie Farina, sophomores
Cozette Collin and
Natalia Ocasio and freshman
Kelly Hayes.
The Panthers are coming off their first event title since 2011 at the season-opening Gardner-Webb Invite on Sept. 5 in Boiling Springs, N.C. Hayes shined in her HPU debut, leading the team with a sixth-place finish (19:29.18). Three other Panthers placed in the top-10, including Wirfel who finished seventh in a time of 19:37.85. Farina earned an eighth-place finish (19:41.46) for the Panthers while Collin placed ninth in 19:44.26.
"This type of event definitely prepares us for the NCAA Regional meet," Wrieden said. "It's very similar in terms of the caliber athlete that we're racing against. It prepares us in that way. I think it's going to push our girls individually to gain some confidence running against some faster people."
The UNCG Spartan Invite features five other programs, including host UNCG, former Big South rival VMI, East Tennessee State, Wofford and NC Central.
"I'm really looking forward to the UNCG meet," Wrieden said. "It's an opportunity for our girls to go out and run a fast time and compete up front. They should be able to compete for the win. For us to do that with only half our group, that's pretty powerful, I think. The course is flat and fast, so the girls running it have a chance to run a personal best. It's definitely a confidence booster."
#GoHPU
