CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia men’s and No. 22 women’s cross country programs travel to Blacksburg, Va. for the 2026 ACC Cross Country Championships on Friday (Oct. 30) at the Buford Meredith Cross Country Course. The men’s 8k is slated for a 10:10 a.m. start, with the women’s 6k following at 11 a.m.
HOW TO FOLLOW
The races will be broadcast on ACC Network while being streamed on the ESPN app and WatchESPN.com. Links to both the broadcast and results are available on VirginiaSports.com. Fans can also get updates by following the team’s official X account (@UVAtfcc).
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
10:10 a.m. | Men’s 8k
11 a.m. | Women’s 6k
RANKINGS
The Virginia women enter the meet ranked No. 22 in the USTFCCCA Week 4 National Poll and third in the Southeast Region. The ACC has boasted strong teams throughout the season as five men’s teams and eight women’s teams are nationally ranked:
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Men |
Women |
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No. 8 Syracuse |
No. 2 NC State |
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No. 10 Wake Forest |
No. 8 Notre Dame |
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No. 13 Stanford |
No. 14 Clemson |
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No. 15 Notre Dame |
No. 19 North Carolina |
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No. 27 North Carolina |
No. 20 Virginia Tech |
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(RV) Virginia Tech |
No. 20 Stanford |
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No. 22 Virginia |
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No. 24 Duke |
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(RV) Boston College |
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ACC CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES
- The UVA men have won the ACC title five times (1984, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2025)
- The Virginia women have been crowned champions on three occasions (1981, 1982, 2015)
- Virginia’s Margaret Groos won the first-ever ACC women’s cross country individual championship in 1978 – four Cavaliers have accomplished the feat since, including Lesley Welch (1982), Patty Matava (1987) and Claire Forbes (1992)
- Three UVA men have crowned four ACC individual champions, including Ryan Foster (2008), Emil Heineking (2009, 2010) and Gary Martin (2024)
- Martin broke the ACC Championship record clocking 22:17.6 for 8k in 2024. The previous record stood at 22:50.7 set by Justyn Knight of Syracuse in 2016.
- The Cavalier men won the team championship in 2025 with 61 points, the program’s first title since 2005. UVA’s women’s program placed fifth in 2025 with 170 points.
THE SMITHFIELD COMMONWEALTH CLASH
The Smithfield Commonwealth Clash, originally called the Commonwealth Challenge (2005-2007), has been a part of the UVA-Virginia Tech rivalry since 2014. It is an all-sports, points-based program with the Commonwealth Clash trophy presented to the winning school each year for its dominance in head-to-head competitions.
In men’s and women’s cross country, the Commonwealth Clash point is awarded to the team that finishes higher at the ACC Championships. The two universities are tied in the overall competition 1.5-1.5.