BETHANY, W.Va. – For the second consecutive year, Point Park's Cassondra O'Connor won the West Liberty Invitational, which was ran at the Bethany Cross Country Course on Thursday evening to open the 2025 season.
 
O'Connor turned in a time of 18:03.8, crossing the finish line 15 seconds faster than the second-place finish, Claire Anderson, from Washington & Jefferson.
 
In all, Point Park placed five runners in the top 25. In addition to O'Connor, freshman Zabine von Westernhagen finished fifth (19:05.2), Aubrey Smith finished 10^th (19:31.5), Alana Dyce-Giraud placed 12^th (19:36.5) and Anna Babinyecz (19:43.9) finished in 15^th place.
 
With the team effort, Point Park (43 points) finished in first place at the event, edging out Washington & Jefferson (68) and Charleston (76) for the top spot on the podium.
 
Point Park will return to action next Friday at the RMU Colonial Invitational. Start time is set for 9:10 a.m. at the Youthtowne Fields in Clinton, Pa.