BOONE, N.C.  – Appalachian State University women's cross country will compete on a 5k course at the 3 Stripe Red-Shirt Invitational on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 11:30 a.m. at the Wake Med Soccer Complex located in Cary, N.C.

“We're looking forward to giving our ladies an opportunity to compete and develop,” said head coach Michael Curcio. “We raced seven at the Sun Belt Championships, but with 24 ladies on the team, this meet allows us to train the younger athletes to develop and follow the training pattern to peak at the end of the season. Most of our team is from North Carolina with many from the triangle area. The Wake Med Soccer Complex course is very familiar to them because they raced on it in high school.”

“This will give them a chance to see how their training went,” continued Curcio. “We are very fortunate that we have a very deep women's team. This part of our team competing at the 3 Stripe Invite beat Georgia State at the USC Upstate meet and Georgia State went on to finish fourth at the Sun Belt Championships. We have to make sure that this group will be ready in the coming years to step into some big shoes when Torre and Tristin graduate.”

Last Time on the Grass

App State won their first-ever Sun Belt Conference Cross Country Championship on Saturday, Oct. 29 in Dothan, Ala. The women collected 43 team points to take first place over Coastal Carolina (56 points) and South Alabama (79 points). Tristin Van Ord was the first Black and Gold jersey to sprint across the finish line coming in second with a time of 17:37.50. The next two Mountaineer runners were Emily Fedders in eighth (18:24.30/PR) and Torre Moser in tenth (18:36.50).  Running directly behind Moser was Hana Ratcliffe, Natalie Kile and Kerry Leonard who finished in 11th, 12th, and 15th respectively to seal the deal and take the championship crown. All six ladies earned all-conference honors, and Coach Curcio won the Sun Belt's Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year award.

Taking a Look Back

Last year at the 3 Stripe Invitational, the women took home first-place with a season-low score of 17 points. The Mountaineers were led by Fedders who ran a time of 18:40.79 to finish eighth out of 30 competitors. Behind her was Erin Jameson in ninth and Ann Sekutowski in 13th. Rounding out the top scorers for Appalachian was Sarah Hoffert in 18th and Leonard in 19th.

Up Next

App State will compete at the 2016 NCAA Southeast Regional Championships on Friday, Nov. 11 in Earlysville, Va. The women's 6k race kicks off at 11 a.m.