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Vigilante enters first year as UVa head coach
By J.C. Poma, Athletics Media Relations
The Virginia cross country teams opened their 2008 campaign at the Lou Onesty Invitational in Charlottesville on September 6, with an unfamiliar face leading them. After head coach Jason Dunn stepped down to accept a coaching position at Stanford, the Cavaliers turned to new coach Jason Vigilante to once again lead the Cavaliers to ACC prominence.
Vigilante comes to Virginia from the successful Texas track and field and cross-county programs, where he served as the associate head men’s track and field and men’s cross country coach.
At Texas, Vigilante helped produce six NCAA individual champions, 37 All-Americans, 17 Big 12 Conference champions, three Big 12 Conference relay champions, six Penn Relays champions and one Olympian. The men’s cross country teams also made seven appearances at the NCAA Championships during his tenure.
The Cavalier men’s cross country team, returning five of its seven performers from the NCAA Championships last year, is ranked 13th in the preseason poll. The men won the ACC Championship and finished 12th at the 2007 NCAA Championships.
With such a strong returning class, led by All-American Emil Heineking and All-ACC performers Andy Biladeau and Ryan Foster, Vigilante said, “Our aspirations are nothing less than a conference title again.”
“Without a doubt, we want to win ACCs again,” Foster said. “I think our place at nationals last year was very good, but we’re going to be a lot better this year, without a doubt. The potential for the men’s team is through the roof. It’s the best team Virginia has ever put together in cross country.”
On the women’s side, the Cavaliers are coming off an injury-plagued season.
“The women were a disappointing eighth place at ACCs last year,” Vigilante said. “The reason I say disappointing is because we had a number of athletes who were injured. The women had goals that were a lot higher and I’m confident that as we go through this season, we can build on last year’s ACC finish and do a lot better. They’re healthy this year, and one thing I worked on with the women from the first day is the team dynamic, working together as a group and getting along in terms of pulling together as a team. I think that is going to help tremendously.”
To help lead the women this year, the Cavaliers welcome back All-American Katie Read and Lauretta Dezubay. Read and Dezubay will help bring together a young and enthusiastic Virginia squad that is currently ranked seventh in the East Region.
“We always aim to be top three in the conference, top two in the region and top 10 in the country,” Dezubay said. “I don’t think it matters who your personnel are as long as you have a really good team with really good training habits and a really good attitude. That is what this team brings to the table, and I’m sure we will achieve those goals by the end of the season.”
Vigilante’s inaugural appearance with the Cavaliers at the Lou Onesty Invitational did not disappoint, with both squads sweeping the top three individual spots.
“It felt great for us to win as a team and to win the individual titles as well,” Vigilante said. “I’m hoping it’s a trend we can carry throughout the remainder of the season.”
Despite having to compete in the wake of torrential rains from the remnants of Tropical Storm Hanna, Trey Miller claimed first place in the 8K for the men’s team, while Dezubay took first place in the women’s 5K race. Both were named the ACC Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Performers of the Week for their accomplishments at the Lou Onesty Invitational.
“Racing at home here in Charlottesville is a treat and quite a blessing,” Miller said. “The hurricane-like weather made the race tremendously more interesting. For a while we thought we weren’t going to have the race because of the weather, but I enjoyed the conditions. I liked the rain, getting out there, getting muddy and sliding around. It was really fun and it was just great to do it on the home course. It was a great start to our season. The team ran strong and we had a number of runners who really showed the depth of our program.”
Virginia’s season continues with an Oct. 18 meet in Terre Haute, Ind., before the Cavaliers head to the ACC Championships in Chapel Hill, N.C., on Nov. 1. UVa closes out the regular season by hosting the Cavalier Open on Nov. 7 at Panorama Farms in Charlottesville. The NCAA Regional Championships will be held at Wake Forest on Nov. 15, before the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind., on Nov. 24.