Cavaliers Finish 12th at NCAA Championships

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Terre Haute, Ind. — The Virginia men’s cross country team finished 12th at the NCAA Championships, the highest finish for the program since 1985. The Cavaliers, the highest-finishing ACC squad, were led by Jan Foerster, who finished 42nd overall with a time of 30:37.1 over the 10K race. On the women’s side, Emily Harrison continued her strong season, capping it off with a sixth-place finish in 20:15.0 over the 6K, the highest for a Cavalier woman since 1982 when Lesley Welch won the individual title. Her sixth place finish equals the performance of Jen Owens in 2001, who also finished sixth at the national meet.

For the second consecutive year, Foerster was the highest finisher among ACC athletes. Rookie Emil Heineking, the ACC Freshman of the Year, was UVa’s second runner and was the fourth freshman to finish the race with his 30:43.6, earning All-American honors. He was the second ACC athlete across the line; Ryan Foster was the fourth.

The 12th place finish for the men is the second-highest team finish in school history; the Cavaliers were 14th last season and 26th in 2005.

“Our goal was a top 10 finish,” said head coach Jason Dunn. “And while we came up just short of that, I was pleased with our team’s performance. I am also happy with the fact that we have improved our team finish in each of the last four trips to nationals. We had such an outstanding season on the whole, so it feels very good for us to finish things off on a high note.”

Harrison was the second ACC athlete to cross the line; she has finished sixth or better in every race this season. She concludes her cross country career not only as a two-time All-American, but also earned All-ACC and All-Regional honors all four years.

“Emily ran very tough today, as she again showed why she is one of the top cross country runners in our program’s history,” said Dunn. “While it was difficult not having our team at the meet, Emily did an outstanding job of representing our program against a very competitive field. I couldn’t be more proud of her for the way she managed herself all season long, and especially today, at the biggest meet of the year.”

Full results:
1. Oregon, 85
2. Iona, 113
3. Oklahoma State, 180
4. Northern Arizona, 190
5. Wisconsin, 239
6. Alabama, 280
7. Colorado, 287
8. Minnesota, 322
9. Louisville, 324
10. UTEP, 331
11. Cal Poly, 367
12. VIRGINIA, 374

Individual Results
42. Jan Foerster, 30:37.1
56. Emil Heineking, 30:43.6
72. Ryan Foster, 30:56.4
126. Taylor Smith, 31.21.3
173. Andy Biladeau, 31:41.3
200. Kevin Tschirhart, 32:05.2
216. Andrew Jesien, 32:28.8

Women:
6. Emily Harrison, 20:15.0