/
.
Cavaliers Set to Host ACC Cross Country Championships
Story Links
October 29, 1998
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The University of Virginia will host the 1998 Atlantic Coast Conference Cross Country Championships. The meet will be held at Darden Towe Park in Charlottesville, Va. on Monday, November 2. The women’s 5,000 meter run is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m., followed by the mens 8,000 meter event which is slated to take place at 10:45 a.m.
Clemson, Duke, Georgia Tech, Florida State, Maryland, North Carolina, N.C. State, Virginia and Wake Forest will field both their men’s and women’s teams in the meet.
The Virginia women’s team will be seeking its third conference championship after winning back-to-back titles in 1981 and 1982. The mens team will be looking for its second conference championship after capturing the ACC title in 1984.
The Cavaliers have had a great deal of success this season, and have been highlighted by the performances of fourth-year runner Jamie Sutherland on the women’s team and second-year runner Bob Thiele on the mens team.
Sutherland, co-captain of the women’s squad, has been UVa’s top finisher in all four events the Cavaliers have competed in this season. She finished first overall in the Cavalier Invitational, second overall in the Lou Onesty Invitational, second overall in the ECAC Championships and fourth overall in the Paul Short Run. Sutherland’s performances in both the Cavalier Invitational and ECAC Championship helped the women’s team finish first overall as a team in both events. Her time of 17:31.20 in the Cavalier Invitational set a new personal-best time, broke the Darden Towe course record and helped her record the ACC women’s Performer of the Week on September 21. In fact, Sutherland has not finished lower than fourth overall in any meet she has competed in this season. Her performances, coupled with the solid results posted by the rest of the team, has Virginia knocking on the door for a Top 25 ranking.
Thiele was Virginia’s top men’s finisher in the Lou Onesty Invitational (second overall), the IC4A Championship (fourth overall) and the Cavalier Invitational (eighth overall). Matt Illian took first for UVa (17th overall) in the Paul Short Run, followed by Thiele who finished second for the Cavaliers (22nd overall). Thieles time of 24:35.80 was one minute faster than his mark in the IC4A Championship last season. He has been named the ACC Men’s Performer of the Week twice this season on September 14 and October 19.