No. 14 Virginia Men Finish Fourth at ACC Championships
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Graduate student Brent Demarest (Charleston, S.C.) led the No. 14 Virginia men’s cross country team to a fourth-place finish at the ACC Championships on Friday (Oct. 26) at Franklin Park in Chestnut Hill, Mass. Demarest finished fourth overall with a time of 23:52.9, capturing his third consecutive All-ACC cross country honor.
Demarest was one of three UVA runners to earn All-ACC honors at the meet.Redshirt junior Ari Klau (West Harford, Conn.) finished 20th with a time of 24:15.1, while junior Randy Neish (Glastonbury, Conn.) placed 21st with a time of 24:15.3. Both Klau and Neish picked up their first All-ACC accolade with today’s performance.
Junior AJ Ernst (Marblehead, Mass.) was the fourth runner to finish for the Cavaliers as he recorded a time of 24:31.8. Redshirt junior Alex Corbett (Burke, Va.) rounded out the scoring runners, finishing 51st with a time of 24:46.7.
Virginia finished fourth in the team standings with 128 points. Notre Dame won the ACC title with 57 points, snapping a five-year winning streak from Syracuse, who placed second with 61 points. NC State placed third with 85 points.
Additionally, the ACC Championships signified the men’s 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. Virginia won the point at stake in the all-sports rivalry series between the two schools. Virginia Tech finished sixth overall with 183 points. The score for the Clash is now Virginia Tech – 3 and University of Virginia- 1.5.
“It was a tough day for us and we are certainly disappointed with the team result,” head men’s cross country coach Jason Dunn said. “Our group is at its best when they pack up and work together, and the guys were not able to make that happen today. It’s time to refocus and turn our attention towards regionals and nationals where we’ll expect to perform much better.”
Virginia will return to action on November 9, traveling to the NCAA Southeast Regionals in Rock Hill, S.C.