Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG, Va. - The Virginia Tech cross country team comes into Saturday's NCAA Southeast Regional Championships with increased expectations compared to last season, as the men placed sixth out of 32 teams and the women qualified for the NCAA Championships by finishing third, good enough to receive an at-large bid to the national meet for the first time in school history.
This year's NCAA Southeast Regional meet will be held at the University of Louisville's E.P. "Tom" Sawyer Park, with the men's 10k race beginning at 11 a.m. The women's 6k race follows at 12:15 p.m.
"On both sides, we started with very good team races at the William & Mary Invitational," head coach Ben Thomas said. "Since then, we have had great individual performances but not the best team races as far as our one through five runners running as a pack. We have not put together that great of a team race yet this season on either side. I think [a great performance] is there and this weekend would be a great time to do it. That's kind of how it happened last year and this is the meet we have been focusing on. I am excited about our chances."
The top two teams from each of this weekend's nine regional meets will earn an automatic bid to the nationals in Terre Haute, Ind., while 13 other teams will receive at-large bids as part of the 31-team field. After the at-large bids are decided, the top four individuals on non-advancing teams from each region will be invited to run unattached in the national meet.
"The southeast region is traditionally one of the toughest in the country," Thomas said. "This year there are four men's team ranked in the top 26 in the nation. There are two women's teams ranked ahead of us. As always it will be very competitive."
After reaching the NCAA Championships for the first time in school history last season, the women continued to be successful by finishing first in three of six meets in which team scores were recorded this season. They will once again be matched up against ACC foes No. 21 NC State, Duke and Virginia on Saturday. The Hokies earned three all-ACC selections: Tasmin Fanning finished fourth overall, along with Kelly Clark, and Natalie Sherbak in the top 14. Jess Fanning, Lisa MacPherson, Nicole Pederson, Erin Reddan will also compete for the Hokies.
"On the women's side, our top three have proven they can run with anybody," Thomas said. "We put three runners inside No. 3 FSU's third runner at [last weekend's] ACC Championships, so it's just a matter of our four through seven runners coming through."
The Hokies' men's squad took first place in the first three meets of this season and feature a roster boasting All-ACC selection Paul LaPenna, 2006 ACC Freshman of the Year Devin Cornwall, along with Billy Berlin, Rider Clauss, Chris Padilla, Phil Padilla, James Scheiner and Zach Thomas. They took fifth at the ACC Championships and will race against four nationally ranked teams, including ACC champ and No. 9 Virginia, defending regional champion and current No. 11 North Carolina State, host No. 13 Louisville, and last year's regional runner-up No. 25 William and Mary.
"For the men, a top-four finish would be fantastic and might give us a shot at making the NCAA meet," Thomas said. "'It will take a relly good one through seven effort to do that."