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Dominant Performance by Cavaliers at the Virginia Invitational as Bushee and Wachtel Record Wins 

Men's Results (.pdf)
Women's Results (.pdf)
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 6 and No. 20 ranked Virginia men’s and women’s cross country programs showed off at the 2025 Virginia Invitational on Friday (Sept. 12) as veteran runners Justin Wachtel and Gillian Bushee won the men’s 8k and women’s 5k races at Panorama Farms in Charlottesville, Va.

In the men’s 8k, graduate students Justin Wachtel and Brett Gardner went 1-2 to lead the way for the men clocking 23:52.6 and 23:52.8. Virginia occupied six of the top 10 spots as Billy Atkinson (24:24.6), Richard Moreno (24:25.2), Adam Balewicz (24:28.9) and Daniel O’Brien (24:37.6) finished fourth, fifth, sixth and eighth in the order. With their dominant performance, the Cavalier men finished atop the team standings with a total of 18 points, well ahead of second and third place finishing teams in Johns Hopkins (59 points) and App State (88 points).

On the women’s side, junior Gillian Bushee won the women’s 5k race clocking a new personal best time of 16:39.9. Bushee’s time is the 19th fastest for the 5k course at Panorama Farms. At this meet a year ago, Bushee finished third in 16:42.0. The Cavaliers accounted for eight of the top 10 finishers as Tatum David (16:54.6), Mary Ellen Eudaly (16:58.3), Ella Woehlcke (17:00.7, PB), and Cate DeSousa (17:14.8, PB) finished third through sixth while Tatum Olesen (17:23.3, PB), Katie Payne (17:25.2) and Kerrigan Chaney (17:28.4) rounded out places eight through 10.

The Virginia women finished ahead in the team standings with a total of 19 points, well ahead of second and third place finishing teams in William & Mary (65 points) and Johns Hopkins (77 points).

Virginia Invitational
Panorama Farms
Charlottesville, Va.
Women’s Team Results (5k)
  1. Virginia — 19
  2. William & Mary — 65
  3. Johns Hopkins — 77
  4. Richmond — 105
  5. George Washington — 116
  6. App State — 141
  7. Western Carolina — 240
  8. Howard — 246
  9. Norfolk State — 274
  10. Mary Washington — 292
Men’s Team Results (8k)
  1. Virginia — 18
  2. Johns Hopkins — 59
  3. App State — 88
  4. William & Mary — 103
  5. George Washington — 107
  6. Norfolk State — 162
  7. Western Carolina — 205
  8. Mary Washington — 250
  9. Howard — 265

From Director of Cross Country & Track & Field Vin Lananna:
“It was a good meet. I think that the athletes are appropriately fit for this time of the year, and they demonstrated that. They had a plan, both teams executed the plan, and it was very encouraging to see their performance today. We are looking forward to the next meet in two weeks.”

Up Next
The Virginia men’s and women’s cross country teams will travel to Columbia, Mo. to compete at the Gans Creek Classic hosted by the University of Missouri on Friday, Sept. 26. The men’s 8k black invitational is set for 8:15 a.m. with the gold invitational at 9:45 a.m. and open section at 11:15 a.m. The women’s races are scheduled to begin with the women’s 6k gold invitational at 9 a.m. just before the black invitational at 10:30 a.m. and open race at 12 p.m. (Times are Central) Gans Creek Cross Country course will be the final site of competition for the NCAA Cross Country Championships later in the season on Saturday, Nov. 22.

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