Hokie ClubThe Virginia Tech men’s team finished in fourth place and the women in 11th place at the Penn State National Open held Friday at the Blue-White Course in State College, Pennsylvania.
The Tech men finished with 125 points, coming in fourth out of 16 teams. Oklahoma State won the event with 47 points, followed by Ole Miss (49) and Virginia (78).
Andrew Gaiser led the Hokie contingent, finishing 20th out of 144 runners and running the course in a time of 25 minutes, 30 seconds. Daniel Jaskowak came in right behind him with a time of 25:32, and Vincent Ciattei finished 24th with a time of 25:34, giving the Hokies three runners in the top 25.
Others who scored for the men were Brent Musselman (28th, 25:35), Jack Joyce (32nd, 25:42), Diego Zarate (38th, 25:48) and Daniel Rau (45th, 25:55).
The men’s team performed without Peter Seufer, one of its top runners. Seufer was diagnosed with mononucleosis last week and will miss the rest of the fall.
“The men gave an excellent effort. We lost Peter to mono, but the guys are stepping up and battling,” Tech cross country head coach Ben Thomas said. “We had an aggressive start. Our pack ran the first three miles in great position We faltered a bit from mile 3 to mile 4, but recovered nicely over the last mile to finish strong. Our 1-5 spread was just 12 seconds – the best in the field.
“If we can move those five guys up the course a bit at the ACCs, we’ll be in the top three.”
On the women’s side, the Hokies finished with 253 points. Host Penn State won the event with 47 points, followed by Ole Miss, Oklahoma State, West Virginia and Texas.
Katie Kennedy continued her strong season for the Hokies, coming in 21st out of 223 runners and running the course in a time of 20:53. Lauren Berman was 45th, with a time of 21:19, and Abigail Motley finished 57th with a time of 21:32.
Four freshmen rounded out the scoring for the Hokies – Laurie Barton (60th, 21:35), Ella Breidenstine (70th, 21:44), Sara Freix (80th, 21:53) and Kayla Richardson (91st, 21:59). Two of the Hokies’ top runners, Hanna Green and Shannon Morton, missed the race while nursing minor injuries.
“Katie was solid and is have a great season so far,” Thomas said. “Lauren was solid as well. We just to get three more girls with them and we’ll be in good shape. I expect to have Hanna Green and Shannon Morton back for ACCs. That should help our cause.”
The Hokies now take a week off to prepare for the ACC Championship, which will be held Friday, Oct. 28 at Wake Med Park in Cary, North Carolina.