WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – William & Mary women's cross country returns to action at the Virginia XC23 Pre-Nationals on Saturday at the Panorama Farms.
Pre-Nationals will include a pair of races with the Tribe running the in the Orange Race at 11 a.m. The meet will be an opportunity for teams from around the country to preview the course that will host the NCAA Championships, Nov. 18, for the first time since 1987.
The XC23 Pre-Nationals will be streamed on ACCNX which is available through the ESPN app and at WatchESPN.com for customers who have the ACC Network as part of their TV subscription.
Tickets to the XC23 Pre-Nationals are on sale now for $20 each and must be purchased online in advance as they will not be available onsite. Tickets will include entry to the event, parking at Fashion Square Mall, and round-trip shuttles to and from Panorama Farms. There is no onsite parking for spectators at this event and Panorama Farms will be closed to all vehicles not displaying an official parking pass. Shuttles will run from 6:45 a.m.-9:30 a.m. and then return from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Children under the age of two do not need a ticket. Tickets can be purchased using the "Buy Tickets" link at
UVATix.com. Visit
VirginiaSports.com for ticket and parking information.
Joining the Tribe in the Orange Race will be 18 teams, including Arizona (No. 11 West), Elon, High Point, Kansas State (No. 14 Midwest), Kent State (No. 14 Great Lakes), Liberty (No. 10 Southeast), Louisville, Miami (Ohio) (No. 8 Great Lakes), Missouri (No. 12 Midwest), Ohio, Queens, Richmond, UMass Lowell (No. 13 Northeast), Utah Valley (No. 12 Mountain), Washington State (No. 10 West), and Weber State (No. 10 Mountain). Representing the Tribe at Pre-Nationals will be graduate student
Heidi Fortin; seniors
Molly Coyle,
Emily Sell, and
Kyra Holland; juniors
Arianna DeBoer,
Annika Griggs, and
Lucy Young; sophomore
Catherine Garrison; and freshman
Taylor Gibson.
Tribe News and Notes
- The Tribe will compete at the Virginia XC23 event for the third-straight season. Saturday marks the first time it has competed at the Pre-National race since 2018 at Wisconsin.
- W&M is currently ranked No. 13 in the Southeast Region. The Tribe started the year at No. 14 and moved up three spots to as high as No. 11 on Sept. 18.
- Most recently at the Paul Short Run, the Tribe outdistanced 11 regionally-ranked foes in placing 13th in the 44-team field. Sophomores
Sofia Istnick (33rd) and Cartherine Garrison (40th) as well as junior
Arianna DeBoer (43rd) led the Tribe by placing among the top 50 among 339 runners.
- In its opening two events of the 2023 season, W&M earned runner-up finishes. The Tribe edged No. 11 Georgetown for second at the season-opening Spider Alumni Open behind only No. 11 Virginia. Recently, W&M was second in CAA rival Elon at the Adidas XC Challenge on Sept. 15 in Cary, N.C.
- Istnick was named the CAA Runner of the Week on Sept. 5 after leading the Tribe at the Spider Alumni Open. She placed fourth in the 180-runner field, covering the 4K course in 13:43.2. The Massillon, Ohio native was the CAA Rookie of the Year last season and led W&M with a 44th-place showing at the NCAA Southeast Region Championships.
