Wachtel Named Men’s ACC Performer of the Week

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Justin Wachtel of the Virginia men’s cross country program was named the first ACC Men’s Performer of the Week for the 2024 season after securing a win at the Spider Alumni Open, the league office announced Tuesday (Sept. 3).

With a winning time of 17:56.2, Wachtel led the Cavaliers to a 1-2-3-4-5-6-7 finish across the line in Richmond, Va. The Virginia men finished ahead in the team standings accumulating a total of 15 points to beat out second place team American (67) by a large margin. Wachtel and second place finisher, teammate Andrew Jones (17:59.0) were the only two competitors to record a time faster than 18 minutes in the field of 162 athletes. This marks the second consecutive year in which Virginia swept the individual and team titles at the Spider Alumni Open.

The Virginia men’s and women’s cross country teams will be back in action on Saturday, Sept. 14 when the Cavaliers will host the Virginia Invitational at Panorama Farms. The men’s 8k is set to begin at 8:45 a.m. while the women’s 5k race will begin at 9:30 a.m.