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Oct. 31, 2005
The Virginia men’s cross country team was a huge treat on Halloween as they captured the ACC Cross Country Championships, their first conference title since 1984, with a 4-5-6-7-8 finish that put them 8 points over second place Florida State. Racing the 8K race at The Greenway in Tallahassee, Fla., the men came into the meet ranked 18th nationally and were the highest ranked team in the conference. Jan Foerster, Andrew Dumm, Soeren Lindner, Ryan Foster, Andy Biladeau, and Alex Tatu all earned All-Conference honors by virtue of their finish. The top five runners for the Cavaliers crossed the finish line in a ten-second span, and all eight runners finished within a minute of each other.
“This is a great win for Virginia,” said head coach Jason Dunn. “We raced today just like we have trained all year long-together as a team. The team is disciplined and their depth shone in the meet.”
The Cavaliers took the lead from the start, and ran in a tight pack throughout the 8K to hold off the #19 Seminoles.
Foerster led the Cavaliers for the second consecutive meet, taking fourth with a time of 24:00.7. Dumm came in a split second behind him at 24:00. 9. Lindner was next across the line at 24:05.0, and Foster finished three seconds later at 24:08.0. Andy Biladeau, the Cavaliers’ fifth runner, was the first freshman across the line and was named the ACC Freshman of the year. His time of 24:10.8 was two seconds better than ninth place, holding off a pair of Seminoles who finished 9th and 10th overall. Alex Tatu took 13th to earn All-ACC honors, and he finished just ahead of FSU’s 5th runner to push valuable points for the Cavaliers.
The Cavalier women finished sixth overall despite an All-ACC performance from Emily Harrison for the second consecutive year. Beset by injuries to two of the top five runners for the Cavaliers, Virginia tried to rally against the conference, but all five teams that beat the Cavaliers are ranked in the top-25 nationally, a testament to the depth in the conference.
“We have been able to run all year in the nation’s elite,” said Dunn, “but we have done so at full strength. Losing two in the top-five against five top-25 teams is a tough call, and good teams will take advantage of that.”
Harrison finished 10th in 19:42.3 (the course was actually 5750m, not a full 6K) while Kara Scanlin just missed All-Conference honors with her 16th place in 19:57.8.
Both the men and the women defeated Virginia Tech, giving the Cavaliers two crucial points in the Commonwealth Challenge, presented by Adelphia. After today’s competition Virginia leads in the Challenge 3.5 – 1. The next competition in the challenge is the volleyball match in Blacksburg on Nov. 1.
Women's results:10. Emily Harrison, 19:42.316. Kara Scanlin, 19:57.843. Laura Hodges, 20:50.956. Lauretta Dezubay, 21:17.357. Jen Dolson, 21:19.764. Katie Read, 21:35.677. Kristin Milot, 22:18.378. Janine Ricci, 22:20.3
women’s team scores1. Duke (#1) 202. N. C. State (#9) 913. Wake Forest (#12) 1044. Boston College (#14) 1065. UNC (#25) 1286. VIRGINIA (#19) 1777. Florida State 1968. Maryland 2149. Virginia Tech 23510. Georgia Tech 28111. Miami 32312. Clemson 327
men’s results4. Foerster, 24:00.45. Dumm, 24:00.96. Lindner, 24:05.07. Foster, 24:08.08. Biladeau, 24:10.813. Tatu, 24:21.526. Jeff Eggleston, 24:43.736. Taylor Smith, 24:59.7
men’s team scores1. VIRGINIA (#18) 302. Florida State (#19) 383. N. C. State 1034. Wake Forest 1365. Duke 1426. Virginia Tech 1747. Clemson 1758. UNC 1989. Boston College 20110. Maryland 30411. Miami 34212. Georgia Tech 356