Hokie ClubVirginia Tech runner Peter Seufer became the third cross country runner in Tech history to win an ACC cross country individual title, beating a 128-runner field at the 2018 ACC Cross Country Championships held Friday morning at Franklin Park in Boston.
Seufer, a redshirt junior from Lynchburg, Virginia, took the lead right from the start and stayed at the front for the entire 8K race. He and Wake Forest's Zach Facioni ultimate pulled away from the pack to set up a showdown in the final 1,000 meters.
Seufer, though, stayed in the lead just ahead of Facioni and never relinquished it, out-kicking Facioni in the final few hundred meters to win. He finished in a time of 23 minutes, 30.9 seconds, with Facioni just a half-second behind him.
"I felt like going into last year I was expecting a lot after Pre-Nats [Adidas Pre-National, where he finished second]," Seufer said. "A little sickness hit me on early on in the postseason. I feel like that set me back and knocked me off focus a little bit. But I felt good. I stayed healthy this year and was completely locked into this race and ready to roll."
Seufer became the men's program's 11th individual conference champion in cross country and the third ACC champion. He joins Will Mulherin (2012) and Tommy Curtin (2015) as men's runners to win an ACC title.
(10/26/2018) 2018 ACC CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
"Peter ran a great race today," Tech distance coach Eric Johannigmeier said. "He competed well throughout the entire 8K. To join Will Mulherin and Tommy Curtin as ACC cross country individual champions is special. We're looking forward to seeing him go out and compete again in two weeks at the regional meet [NCAA Southeast Regional]."
Behind Seufer, the Tech men finished in sixth place in the team race with 183 points. Notre Dame won the team competition with 57 points, followed by Syracuse, NC State, Virginia, Wake Forest and the Hokies.
For the Hokies, Fitsum Seyoum, Jack Joyce and Bashir Mosavel-Lo each finished in the top 50. Seyoum came in 34th overall with a time of 24:30.8, while Joyce was 44th and Mosavel-Lo finished 48th.
On the women's side, Sara Freix and Lauren Berman led the way, finishing 13th and 17th, respectively, to help the Hokies to a fifth-place finish. With 67 points, NC State won its third straight women's championship, followed by Notre Dame (68), Syracuse (83), Florida State (128) and the Hokies, who had 161 points.
Freix, a junior, ran the 6K course in a time of 20:47.1, while Berman, also a junior, just missed a career-best time at this distance, running the course in 20:54.1. Both earned All-ACC honors for the first time in their careers.
Kayla Richardson, Sarah Edwards and Rachel Pocratsky each finished in the top 50. Richardson came in 35th, while Edwards was 47th and Pocratsky 49th. Ellie Brush (72nd) and Ella Breidenstine (97th) rounded out the Hokies' lineup.
Tech and UVA split the two points available in the Commonwealth Clash – sponsored by Virginia529 – with the Tech women garnering a point by virtue of their finishing ahead of the UVA women in the team standings at the ACC Championships. The Hokies now hold a 3-1.5 lead in the head-to-head points-based competition within the 22 varsity sports in which Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia compete against each other. Please see more below.
MEET NOTES
• Freix, Berman, Pocratsky and Brush all recorded their best career finishes at an ACC Cross Country Championships
• Brush's time of 22:04.1 marked a career best for her at the 6K distance.
• Seyoum's 34th-place finish was a career best for him at an ACC Cross Country Championships.
• Will Griffen ran in his first meet of the season and came in 62nd overall with a time of 24:54.5.
• Several men's runners set career bests in times for the 8K distance, including Griffen, Fleming (24:57.1), Osman Humeida (25:07.1), and Owen Buck (25:22.7). Humeida came in 78th overall, while Buck was 90th.
COMMONWEALTH CLASH
Building on a tradition started in 1895, the Commonwealth Clash is a head-to-head points-based competition within the 22 varsity sports in which Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia compete against each other. At the end of the season, the institution with the most points is crowned the champion of the Commonwealth Clash. The competition between the Hokies and the Cavaliers is presented by Virginia529, the official college savings plan of Virginia Tech Athletics and the University of Virginia Athletics. To learn more about Virginia529 and the competition, please click here.
Virginia Tech has won the Commonwealth Clash in each of the past two seasons, while the current score of this year's Clash is 3-1 in favor of Virginia Tech. The Hokies have received two full points for wins in women's soccer and women's cross country and a half-point each from tying the Cavaliers in men's soccer and beating UVA in volleyball in the first matchup between the two squads this season.
UP NEXT
Both squads return to the course next week at the final home meet of the season – the Hokie Open, which will be held Friday, Nov. 2 at the Buford Meredith Cross Country Course. The men's 6K race starts at 4:30 p.m., while the women's 4K race start at 5:10 p.m.