/
.
Cavalier Women Finish Third at ACC Cross Country Championships
Story Links
CLEMSON, S.C.-The Virginia women’s cross country team finished tied for third with 113 points at the 2011 ACC Championships Saturday on Musser Farms in Clemson, S.C. The UVa men placed sixth with 169 points.
Senior Mark Amirault (Walpole, Mass.) and junior Barbara Strehler (Richmond, Va.) earned All-ACC honors. Amirault finished third in the men’s race in an 8K time of 23:10.8, while Strehler earned a 14th-place finish in the women’s race in a 6K time of 20:47.0.
Florida State claimed the women’s team title with 20 points after finishing 2-6, while NC State won the men’s crown with 51 points. Kendra Schaaf won the women’s individual title in a time of 19:45.3. Ryan Hill of the Wolfpack won the men’s championship in 23:06.3.
After the Seminoles, Boston College finished second in the women’s race with 79 points. NC State tied UVa with 113 for third, followed by North Carolina (118), Clemson (159), Duke (161), Virginia Tech (180), Maryland (258), Wake Forest (264), Georgia Tech (328) and Miami (369).
The Cavaliers ran as a group and moved up throughout the race. Sophomore Chelsea Ley (Woolwich Township, N.J.) was the second ‘Hoo to cross the line in 17th in 20:54.5, while sophomore Kathleen Stevens (Blacksburg, Va.) was 23rd overall in 21:00.9.
“We tried to go out a little slower for the first mile, but still ended up going out at 5:15 for the first mile, which is pretty fast,” Strehler said. “We stayed in a strong pack, talked it out, kept good communication and really toughed it out today.”
Sophomore Katherine Walker (Stafford, Va., 23rd overall) and senior Anna Corrigan (Burke, Va., 38th overall) rounded out the scoring five in 21:06.0 and 21:22.7, respectively.
“To tie for third place is pretty good,” head coach Jason Vigilante said. “I thought it was a great opportunity for us to run tough and I was very pleased with how hard our women ran. With two more weeks to prepare (for regionals), we’ll only continue to get better and better.”
In the men’s race, NC State dethroned defending champion Florida State, 51-55, followed by North Carolina (84), Virginia Tech (116), Duke (116), UVa (169), Wake Forest (212), Maryland (232), Georgia Tech (239), Clemson (268), Boston College (281) and Miami (372).
Amirault stayed with the lead pack throughout the first mile, and was in the top-5 from the second mile on.
“The race went by really fast today and the guys were getting after it,” Amirault said. “Overall, it was my best cross country race ever and a step in the right direction towards the rest of the season. As a team, we could have had a better day, but we’ll be ready for regionals.”
Junior Robby Andrews (Englishtown, N.J.) finished second for the Cavaliers and 26th overall in 24:12.7. Sophomore Drew Paisley (Virginia Beach, Va.), sophomore Colin Mearns (Williamsburg, Va.) and junior David Wilson (Brookline, Mass.) all finished close together, placing 45th, 50th and 55th, respectively.
“Obviously, we had much higher hopes on the men’s side, but most of our guys were running at ACCs for the first time,” Vigilante said. “We have two more weeks to get better and I’m certain that we will be able to do that.”
The Cavaliers return to action Friday (Nov. 4) for the Cavalier Open at Panorama Farms.