Hokie ClubBehind top-10 finishes from Peter Seufer and Daniel Jaskowak, the Virginia Tech men’s cross country team punched its ticket to the NCAA Championships with a second-place performance at the NCAA Southeast Regional meet held Friday morning at Panorama Farms in Earlysville, Virginia.
Not to be outdone, the Tech women’s team used top-25 finishes from Katie Kennedy, Kayla Richardson and Sarah Edwards to come in fourth place in the team standings – the second-best performance by the team at a regional meet in program history. The 2006 team came in third at the regional.
“This was a very good day for Virginia Tech cross country,” Tech distance coach Ben Thomas said. “I asked both squads on Tuesday to get on the bus prepared to fight to the bitter end. We did that today, and I’m very proud of both squads.
“The guys went from third to second over the last 2,000 kilometers of the race to pick up the automatic qualifying spot. The girls picked up 18 places over the last 2,000 to finish fourth, which may be good enough for an at-large bid.
“If we both get in, it’ll be the first time we’ve sent both squads to the NCAAs. Either way, we loved our efforts today!”
Seufer came in ninth place to lead the Tech men’s contingent, which received the automatic bid because the top two in the team race of each regional meet qualify automatically. Furman won the meet with 55 points, while the Hokies amassed 109. Tech’s second-place finish marked its best at a regional meet since the Hokies won the regional back in 1987.
Seufer ran 10K course in a time of 29 minutes, 25.3 seconds to earn All-Southeast Region honors for the first time. Jaskowak was right behind him, finishing 10th with a time of 29:26.1 and earning all-region honors for the second straight year. Likewise, Patrick Joseph earned all-region honors for the second time in his career, coming in 21st with a time of 29:40.8.
All seven of Tech’s runners ended the race in the top 45. Diego Zarate and Jack Joyce came in 32nd and 37th, respectively, while Vincent Ciattei was 42nd and Neil Gourley 44th.
Kennedy led the way on the women’s side, coming in 15th with a time of 20:45.6. The Hokies amassed 138 points, finishing behind NC State (68), Furman (83) and Eastern Kentucky (136).
The lone senior on the squad, Kennedy earned all-region honors for the second straight year.
Richardson finished 22nd, running the 6K course in a time of 21:02.2, while Edwards was 24th with a time of 21:06.5. The duo earned all-region honors for the first time.
Two other Tech runners – Sara Freix and Lauren Berman – finished in the top 50, as Freix came in 31st and Berman 46th. Rachel Pocratsky (70th) and Laurie Barton (106th) rounded out the Tech lineup.
The Tech women’s squad finds out its NCAA fate Saturday afternoon when the NCAA selection committee announces the field for the NCAA Cross Country Championships, which will take place Saturday, Nov. 18 in Louisville, Kentucky. The selection show starts at 3 p.m.