Cavaliers Earn Bid to NCAA Championships

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The ACC Champion Virginia men’s cross country team drew an at-large bid to the NCAA Cross Country Championships and will compete in the 2007 finals on Monday, Nov. 19 in Terre Haute, Ind. Cavalier All-American Emily Harrison, who finished second at the NCAA Southeast Regional on Saturday (Nov. 10) and earned All-American honors in 2006, will also compete after earning an automatic invitation with her runner-up finish at the regional competition.

The 2007 NCAA Cross Country Championships will be held at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course at the Wabash Family Sports Center at Indiana State University. The men’s 10K race will start at 12:08 and the women’s 6K race will begin at 12:58. Both races will be televised live by CSTV.

The men’s team, ranked ninth nationally, will compete for the seventh time in school history in the NCAA Championships and for the third consecutive season. In 2006, the Cavaliers finished 14th as a squad. Virginia front-runner Jan Foerster just missed All-American honors, finishing in 32nd place and just 1.5 seconds out of national recognition. Foerster returns for Virginia and will be joined by veterans Andy Biladeau, Ryan Foster, and Taylor Smith. The 2007 ACC Freshman of the Year, Emil Heineking, was the front-runner for the Cavaliers at the NCAA Southeast Regional where he led four Cavaliers in the top-25 as each of them earned All-Regional honors.

Emily Harrison has finished in the top-four of every race she has run in the 2007 season, including the prestigious Roy Griak Invitational in which she won the race. At the Pre-Nationals meet on the NCAA course in October, Harrison finished fourth. A four-time All-ACC and four-time All-Regional performer, Harrison will look to repeat as an All-American at the NCAA meet.