Asfaw Leads Cavaliers With Top Time At Virginia Invite

EARLYSVILLE, Va. –Senior Rohann Asfaw (Rockville, Md.) captured the top time in the men’s 8k race at the Virginia Invite at Panorama Farms on Friday (Sept. 25), leading the Virginia men’s cross country team to a first-place finish in the meet. Senior Hannah Moran’s (Salem, Va.) third-place finish in the women’s 5k race, paced the Cavalier women’s team to a second-place finish in the standings.

Virginia won the men’s competition against Wake Forest and North Carolina with a score of 26 points. The Demon Deacons placed second with 49 points, while the Tar Heels finished third with 52 points. On the women’s side, North Carolina finished first with 21 points as UVA placed second with 38 and Wake Forest finished third with 77.

 

Men’s Race

Asfaw captured the fastest 8k run of the day, finishing with an eight-second gap over the competition with a time of 24:03.1. Freshman Wes Porter (Kansas City, Mo.) ran a time of 24:15.4 to finish fourth overall and second for the Cavaliers. Moments later graduate student Randy Neish crossed the finish line with a time of 24:18.3 for fifth place as sophomore Bryson Crites (Trabuco Canyon, Calif.) followed in sixth place with a time of 24:23.8. Freshman Kellen Hasle (Purcellville, Va.) was UVA’s fifth runner. He captured a time of 24:38.2 for 10th place.

Women’s Race

In the women’s 5k race, Moran paced the Cavaliers with a time of 17:20.2 to finish third overall. Senior Gabriella Karas (Louisville, Ky.) recorded a time of 17:26.2 to place fifth as freshman Anna Workman (Kingston, Ontario) placed seventh with a time of 17:30.5. Senior Kiera Bothwell (Springfield, Va.) was the fourth UVA runner to cross the finish line, recording a time of 17:32.4, while redshirt senior Oliva Sargent (Yardley, Pa.) rounded out Virginia’s scoring runners with a 13th-place finish and a time of 17:49.0.

Quote from Vin Lananna

“Hannah (Moran)  did a great job, moved up the whole way, executed strategy perfectly,” director of track & field and cross country/associate athletics director of administration Vin Lananna said. “She and the whole team did a really good job. I was really excited that North Carolina and Wake Forest [came down]. To have them come down the day of and compete, it’s pretty tough.

“From a Rohann (Asfaw) perspective, I mean, what can you say. Those are good people that he beat . He did a great job, time is great. So, it’s a great start and I’m excited that these guys have something to aim for.”

Up Next

The Cavaliers will return to action on Oct. 7 as both teams travel to Cary, N.C., for the program’s lone regular-season road competition.