DI Nationals will be Saturday, Nov. 18 at UVA
Abby Herring became the third runner in the history of Marshall cross country to advance to the NCAA DI Cross Country National Championships.
From the men’s side, Kim Nutter – a fellow Parkersburg native – in 1979 and Matt Schiffbauer in 2011 made the finals.
Joining both is Abby Herring, whose fifth-place finish at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Friday qualified the Parkersburg graduate senior for next week’s finals in Charlottesville, Virginia.
“Going into regionals this year I knew that there was a chance that I could make it to nationals, but it definitely wasn’t guaranteed,” Herring said. “I just tried to stay close to that front pack from the gun and hold on for as long as I could. Walking away from this meet, I’m extremely happy with a ticket punched to nationals and a PR! The entire women’s team performed well with personal records all around and a fifteenth place finish! Representing Marshall these past five years has been an absolute joy and ending my career at the national meet is the perfect way to finish.”
Herring finished runner-up in the Sun Belt Conference Championship last month, earning First Team All-Sun Belt Conference honors. Herring is one of two female four-time All-Conference winners in school history.
Fellow All-Conference runner Kylee Mastin finished top-50, with sophomore Hannah Wyler finishing her breakout season in the top-100.
The men saw senior All-Conference runner Evan White finish top-50 to close out his successful cross country career. Ronnie Saunders finished 100th in the men’s team’s final race.
“That was a fun day!” Head Coach Caleb Bowen said. “Abby punching her ticket to Nationals was just so awesome! I couldn’t be any prouder of her. She put herself in a great position early on, fought hard, actually dropped a spot with 800 to go and then clawed back to secure the spot. Such a gritty performance!”
“What a great day for both teams! Kylee Mastin and Hannah Wyler raced hard from the gun and secured their best races all season! The senior duo to close out the top 5 with Kalei/Tori was great. Loved seeing them have a great last race. The women finished in the top-15 which means they’ll finish the season ranked in the region.”
“On the men’s side, Evan ran the highest finishing performance since 2016 with a 46th place. He had a great run and looked tougher throughout. Ronnie broke 32 minutes and Garrett not too far behind in.32:27”.
FULL RESULTS:
WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP (6K)
(1) 5. Abby Herring 19:52.4
(2) 48. Kylee Mastin 21:06.7
(3) 79. Hannah Wyler 21:56.9
(4) 128. Kalei Jordan 22:22.5
(5) 136. Tori Dotson 22:32.6
(6) 141. Hannah Toth 22:37.8
(7) 149. Asha Bora 22:47.9
MEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP (10K)
(1) 46. Evan White 30:56.7
(2) 100. Ronnie Saunders 31:57.6
(3) 119. Garrett Ferguson 32:27.8
(4) 140. Kent Bee 33:06.3
(5) 144. Nathaniel Schneider 33:09.8
(6) 146. Paul Sepulveda 33:14.0
(7) 160. Zach Cannon 33:45.5
UP NEXT
Abby Herring will compete at the NCAA DI Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 18 in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Follow the team on Twitter and Instagram @HerdTFXC for coverage all season long of Marshall cross country.
**Press release from Marshall University – HERDZONE – 11/10/2023 4:54:00 PM | Cross Country