No. 9 West Virginia Wins Nuttycombe Invitational

Friday, October 9

Madison, Wis.

11:30 a.m.

West Virginia University

Nuttycombe Invitational

October 09, 2026 02:25 PM | Cross Country

Championship Final Results B Race Final Results

By: Jaret Dyer

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 9 West Virginia University cross country team claimed first place at the Nuttycombe Invitational on Friday, Oct. 9, finishing with 66 points in Madison, Wis.

The Mountaineers placed all five scoring runners in the top 25 of the championship race to finish 45 points ahead of No. 13 Florida, which placed second with 111 points. No. 3 Northern Arizona finished third with 130 points, followed by No. 4 New Mexico (157) and
No. 16 Colorado (166).

Joy Naukot led the Mountaineers with a fifth-place finish in the women's 6,000-meter championship race, crossing the line in 19:22.6. Mercy Kinyanjui followed closely behind in sixth at 19:23.3, while Sheila Chepkirui placed 11th with a time of 19:26.3.

Naomi Kemboi finished 19th in 19:40.5, while Lexi Lamb rounded out WVU's scoring five with a 25th-place finish in 19:47.0. Emily Bryce placed 44th in 20:13.4, followed by Anastasia Chepkorir in 112th at 20:58.0.

In the women's 6,000-meter B race, Chiara Judis led West Virginia with a fourth-place finish in 20:40.8. Chelsea Chepkemboi placed 41st with a time of 21:43.6, while Alyssa Sauro finished 57th in 22:02.1.

"I was a little nervous because we had not raced this group before today, but they handled it with tremendous poise," Head Coach Sean Cleary said. "While we thought we had a chance to win, a competition of this level is nearly impossible to predict. There is a lot more parity among the top teams this year."

"With six weeks until the NCAA Championships, we cannot get too high after this win. We need to enjoy it and quickly put it behind us. If we can stay healthy and avoid serious illness, we will be a very competitive team come November."

West Virginia will conclude its split-squad weekend on Saturday, Oct. 10, at the Carnegie Mellon Invitational in Clinton, Pa. The race is scheduled to begin at 10:45 a.m., with live results available at WVUSports.com.

The Mountaineers will then turn their attention to the Big 12 Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Oct. 31, in Stillwater, Okla.

Championship Race
5th – Joy Naukot – 19:22.6
6th – Mercy Kinyanjui – 19:23.3
11th – Sheila Chepkirui – 19:26.3
19th – Naomi Kemboi – 19:40.5
25th – Lexi Lamb – 19:47.0
44th – Emily Bryce – 20:13.4
112th – Anastasia Chepkorir – 20:58.0

B Race
4th – Chiara Judis – 20:40.8
41st – Chelsea Chepkemboi – 21:43.6
57th – Alyssa Sauro – 22:02.1

For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUXCTF on X, Facebook and Instagram.