Wheeling, W.Va. – A pair of all-conference performances highlighted the West Liberty University cross country teams' run at the 2023 Mountain East Conference Championship on Saturday morning at the Oglebay Resort's Crispin Golf Course. Now 5-time All-MEC runner, Philip White paced the men's team to a sixth place finish with 160 points, while freshman Lacey Dimit collected her first career All-MEC accolade to lead the women's team to a seventh place finish with 181 points.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED – WLU MEN'S XC

• Philip White notched his second consecutive top-15 finish of the season, finishing 14^th overall with a time of 27:13.1 to earn Second Team All-MEC honors. White became a 5-time All-MEC performer with today's result.
• Robert Allen collected his third top-30 finish of the season with a time of 27:52.6 and 26^th place finish at the Crispin Golf Course. The sophomore bested his time from last season's MEC Championship by 32.4 seconds.
• Jasper Brown earned his second consecutive 41^st place finish, his third top-45 finish of the season, with a time of 29:12.9 on Saturday morning. Brown was the second men's runner to notch a personal-best time at the conference championship event, bettering his time from 2022 by 44.1 seconds.
• Francis Toohey rounded out the sophomore trio running in the upper half of the Hilltopper lineup, finishing 46^th overall with a time of 29:37.9. Toohey's third top-50 finish of the season resulted in a personal-best course time, beating his 2022 MEC Championship time by 20.1 seconds.
• In his third meet of the season, Brody Cermak posted a season-best finish of 52^nd overall with a time of 30:16.9. Cermak has now recorded back-to-back top-65 finishes.
• The lone freshman in the lineup, Patrick Childers, earned a season-best finish of 62^nd overall with a time of 32.02.5 on Saturday morning.
• Tyler Davis also ran to a season-best finish at the 2023 MEC Cross Country Championship, running to a 66^th place finish and time of 33:14.7.
• Chase Pepper was the final runner for the Black & Gold, recording a season-best finish of 69^th overall while posting a time of 33:45.5 in his first MEC Championship appearance.

WEST LIBERTY MEN'S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

PL	NAME	YEAR	TIME
14	Philip White	Sr.	27:13.13
26	Robert Allen	So.	27:52.63
41	Jasper Brown	So.	29:12.89
46	Francis Toohey	So.	29:37.86
52	Brody Cermak	Sr.	30:16.91
62	Patrick Childers	Fr.	32:02.54
66	Tyler Davis	So.	33:14.74
69	Chase Pepper	So.	33:45.45

 
HOW IT HAPPENED – WLU WOMEN'S XC

• West Liberty freshman, Lacey Dimit, led the pack for the women's team, finishing a season-best 20^th overall with a time of 26:11.7. With the finish she earned Second Team All-MEC recognition, and was the first runner other than Hannah Kemp, a 2-time MEC Champion, to earn all-conference honors since the 2021 spring championship.
• Morgan Lesnansky ran to a season-best finish of 30^th overall at the Crispin Golf Course, running to a time of 27:20.4. She bested her time from last year's MEC Championship by a time of 2:06.6.
• Shania Keene also ran to a season-best result, a 35^th place finish with a 6K time of 27:53.9. She also ran a personal-best time for the MEC Championship event held at the Oglebay Resort, bettering her time from the fall of 2021 by 1:18.1.
• Ally Hicks was the fourth runner on the team to secure her season-best finish, with 46^th place overall and a time of 28:28.2. She was one of three runners on the team to post a personal-best course time, beating her time at last year's conference championship by 23.0 seconds.
• Emma Flynn rounded out the Hilltopper lineup and secured another season-best result with 63^rd overall and a time of 30:38.3.

WEST LIBERTY WOMEN'S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

PL	NAME	YEAR	TIME
20	Lacey Dimit	Fr.	26:11.68
30	Morgan Lesnansky	So.	27:20.35
35	Shania Keene	Sr.	27:53.93
46	Ally Hicks	So.	28:28.15
63	Emma Flynn	So.	30:38.29

  
UP NEXT
In two weeks, the West Liberty men's and women's cross country programs will travel to Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, for the second time this season, where they will compete in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional. Start times for the Saturday, November 4 races at the West Branch Cross Country Course will be announced in the upcoming week.