Virginia Completes Sweep at Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown

BOSTON, Mass. – Behind a pair of dominant performances that featured strong pack running from the Cavaliers, the Virginia men’s and women’s cross country teams swept the women’s 5k and men’s 8k races at the Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown on Friday afternoon (Sept. 23).

The Virginia women remained undefeated on the season as they clinched their third victory of the campaign. Leading the way once again for Virginia was Margot Appleton who crossed the finish line with a time of 17:12 to finish second and clinch her third top-two finish in three races this season. Following Appleton by less than a second was Massachusetts native Camryn Menninger who took third place for the third time this season. The scoring places were rounded out by Esther Seeland, Sophie Atkinson and Anna Workman who placed fifth, seventh and 10^th respectively.

Mia Barnett placed 12^th in her cross country debut this season with a time of 17:37 while Linnaea Kavulich placed seventh with a time of 18:00. Virginia took down two ranked opponents in No. 21 Gonzaga and No. 20 Harvard.

On the men’s side, Virginia won its second consecutive meet of the season as the Cavaliers went 2-3-4-5-6 in the men’s 8k to earn the top spot.

Leading the way for Virginia was Yasin Sado who recorded his second consecutive runner-up finish this season with his time of 23:53. Following Sado were Justin Wachtel, Jack Eliason, Rohann Asfaw and Virginia debutant Will Anthony whom all crossed the finish within four seconds of Sado and helped the team capture its second victory in as many races. Virginia has won its last two races following a second-place finish in its season opener. The Cavaliers topped No. 15 Harvard and No. 20 Syracuse.

Wes Porter and Derek Johnson rounded out Virginia’s top-seven runners as they placed eighth and ninth respectively.

From Director of Track and Cross Country, Vin Lananna

“It was excellent to see our teams put in a dominant performance today. Both teams entered with a good race plan, executed them well and are progressing nicely overall. On the women’s side we were excited to put together our whole team today. We have some things that we must continue to work on, but we will see a very strong team this year.”

“The men put together an outstanding display of pack running. That is going to be incredibly important as we quickly approach the championship season. We are looking forward to hosting the Panorama Farms XC 23 in just a few short weeks on October 15.”

Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown
Franklin Park
Boston, Mass. 

Women’s Team Results (5k)

1. Virginia (27)
2. Northeastern (97)
3. Dartmouth (113)
4. La Salle (170)
5. 21 Gonzaga (170)
6. Syracuse (190)
7. Boston College (219)
8. 20 Harvard (224)
9. Quinnipiac (248)
10. Santa Clara (252)
11. Yale (270)
12. Boston University (305)
13. Bucknell (316)
14. Monmouth (338)
15. Youngstown State (394)
16. Brown (432)
17. Vermont (447)
18. John’s (490)
19. Maine (566)

Men’s Team Results (8k)

1. Virginia (20)
2. Dartmouth (98)
3. Northeastern (103)
4. Yale (139)
5. Youngstown State (164)
6. Boston University (185)
7. 20 Syracuse (203)
8. Monmouth (208)
9. Rhode Island (249)
10. Bucknell (269)
11. Maine (305)
12. 15 Harvard (307)
13. Brown (316)
14. Boston College (317)
15. Vermont (369)