Virginia Competes in ACC Championships Saturday

Story Links

Oct. 26, 2012

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.—The Virginia men’s and women’s cross country teams head to Blacksburg, Va., for the Atlantic Coast Conference Cross Country Championships Saturday (Oct. 27) at the Virginia Tech Cross Country Course at Smithfield Plantation. The women’s 6K race will begin at 10 a.m., while the men’s 8K run is slated for 10:50 a.m.

The men have been led by graduate student Zach Gates so far this season, including a fourth-place finish at the Virginia/Panorama Farms Invitational and a 24th-place mark at the Wisconsin adidas Invitational. The Cavaliers will be boosted by fellow grad student Mark Amirault, who is returning from injury and was an All-America honoree a year ago.

The women are led by graduate student Catherine White, who is making her first appearance at the conference cross country meet since 2009, when she finished second. White was second at the Virginia/Panorama Farms Invitational and led the Cavaliers across the line with a 21st-place finish in Madison, Wis.

Last year, the women finished third with 113 points, while the men placed sixth with 169 points down in Clemson, S.C. Amirault and junior Barbara Strehler earned All-ACC honors.

Florida State claimed the women’s title, while NC State is the defending champion on the men’s side. North Carolina’s Kendra Schaaf won the individual title on the women’s side, while NC State’s Ryan Hill claimed the men’s crown.

The Cavalier men last won the ACC title in 2008, while the women were most recently champions in 1982. Virginia had three consecutive individual champions from 2008-10 (Ryan Foster in ’08 and Emil Heinking in ’09 and ’10), while Claire Forbes is the women’s most recent individual winner in 1992.

Up next, the Cavaliers host the Virginia/Panorama Farms Open on Nov. 3 at 10 a.m.