Cavalier Women Third, Men Fourth at ACC Cross Country Championships

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Oct. 31, 2014

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EARLYSVILLE, Va. – The Virginia cross country teams hosted the 2014 ACC Championships Friday morning at Panorama Farms. The Cavalier women finished third at the meet, while the Cavalier men finished fourth.

The 13th-ranked Virginia women scored 109 points to finish in third place. North Carolina won the championship with 57 points, ending Florida State’s six-year reign as champions. The Seminoles finished second with 99 points.

Three Cavalier women earned All-ACC honors with top-21 finishes in the 6K race. Sophomore Sarah Fakler (Phoenix, Ariz.) led the team with a 12th-place finish in a time of 20:27.2. Graduate students Iona Lake (Norwich, England) and Morgan Kelly (San Francisco, Calif.) followed in 13th place and 14th place, respectively. Senior Kathleen Stevens (Blacksburg, Va.) was 25th and junior Cleo Boyd (Kingston, Ontario) was 45th to round out Virginia’s scoring five.

“We knew coming in that this race was going to be tight and we just had to go for it,” said women’s head coach Todd Morgan. “We thought we had a chance to win, but there was also the reality as well that we could have finished fifth. There are so many good teams in this conference and today wasn’t our day. We ran well and we have momentum going in the right direction as we head into regionals.”

The 13th-ranked Cavalier men scored 121 points to finish fourth. Third-ranked Syracuse won its second consecutive title with 32 points, followed by NC State (90 points) and North Carolina (95 points).

Sophomore Connor Rog (Fairfield, Conn.) and junior Zach Herriott (Kansas City, Mo.) earned All-ACC honors by placing 14th and 18th, respectively, in the 8K race. Sophomore Adam Visokay (Ruckersville, Va.) and junior Kyle King (Yorktown, Va.) followed in 28th and 29th place, while sophomore Mike Marsella (Hope Valley, R.I.) was the fifth Cavalier across the line in 35th place.

“It was disappointing since we had a couple guys that we count on have an off day today,” said men’s head coach Pete Watson. “Connor and Zach ran great races, but that was where we should have closed out scoring instead of start scoring. We were bad last year at ACCs, too, and then followed it up with great performances at regionals and NCAAs. This is a special group and I know we will be better at the 10K distance.”

The ACC Championship also marked the cross country matchup between Virginia and Virginia Tech in the Commonwealth Clash, sponsored by Virginia529, the official college savings plan of University of Virginia Athletics. With the Cavaliers finishing ahead of the Hokies in both the men’s and women’s races, Virginia gained two points in the competition and now leads the 2014-15 Commonwealth Clash, 4.5 to 0. Learn more about Virginia529 and this new competition at thecommonwealthclash.com.

The Virginia men and women will return to action on Nov. 14 for the NCAA Southeast Regional in Louisville, Ky. The Cavalier women are the reigning Southeast Regional champions, while the Cavalier men were last year’s runner-up. The top two teams from the region automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships the following week (Nov. 22) in Terre Haute, Ind.

Women’s Top Five Teams
1. North Carolina (57)
2. Florida State (99)
3. Virginia (109)
4. NC State (119)
5. Notre Dame (132)

Individual Top Five
1. Liv Westphal (Boston College) 19:43.8
2. Colleen Quigley (Florida State) 19:57.1
3. Margo Malone (Syracuse) 20:01.6
4. Annie LeHardy (North Carolina) 20:09.5
5. Molly Seidel (Notre Dame) 20:11.2

Virginia Results
12. Sarah Fakler 20:27.2
13. Iona Lake 20:31.8
14. Morgan Kelly 20:32.7
25. Kathleen Stevens 20:59.9
45. Cleo Boyd 21:26.7
48. Laura Pierce 21:28.5
55. Megan Rebholz 21:34.6
67. Sara Sargent 21:47.9
83. Brooke Grice 22:05.1
115. Rebecca Salter 22:39.9

Men’s Top Five Teams
1. Syracuse (32)
2. NC State (90)
3. North Carolina (95)
4. Virginia (121)
5. Florida State (158)

Individual Top Five
1. Martin Hehir (Syracuse) 23:15.2
2. Ernest Kibet (Louisville) 23:21.7
3. Max Straneva (Syracuse) 23:23.1
4. George Parsons (NC State) 23:25.6
5. Graham Crawford (NC State) 23:26.7

Virginia Results
14. Connor Rog 23:40.2
18. Zach Herriott 23:51.4
28. Adam Visokay 24:13.2
29. Kyle King 24:14.8
35. Mike Marsella 24:20.6
43. Henry Wynne 23:28.6
48. Thomas Madden 24:35.0
50. Trevor Hopper 24:38.6
91. Evan Chiplock 25:23.4
99. Jack St. Marie 25:35.1