Hokie ClubEARLYSVILLE, Va. – Virginia Tech runner Thomas Curtin continued his string of dominating performances, winning the NCAA Southeast Regional cross country meet held Friday afternoon at Panorama Farms outside of Charlottesville.
The win marked the third straight for Curtin, who claimed the ACC’s individual crown two weeks ago and also won at the NCAA Pre-National meet held in Louisville in mid-October. Curtin won the 10k race in a time of 29 minutes, 7.9 seconds, beating Duke’s Shaun Thompson by nearly four seconds.
“It’s a good feeling,” Curtin said. “I’m definitely on a good roll, and I want to keep that momentum going forward. The race felt really smooth, and I should be able to recover nicely this week and gear up for nationals.”
At the ACC Championships, Curtin used a powerful kick to pull past Syracuse’s Justyn Knight in the final 100 meters to win. He didn’t need such a kick this time, gradually pulling away from a lead pack of four and cruising to the victory.
“Tommy’s in outstanding shape,” Tech coach Ben Thomas said. “He’s been solid all season, and he’s had an amazing fall. When he finished the race, he said he felt comfortable. He’s got eight days to get ready for the national championships, to come back and do another 10k. I was happy to hear he felt smooth, and he looked good doing it. We’re super excited. We’re looking forward to seeing what he can do in Louisville.”
“It could have gone either way,” Curtin said. “I was ready for whatever might have happened. I was able to do a steady acceleration and keep a good pace going.”
The Tech men’s team finished in sixth place in the team standings with 160 points. The Hokies were hoping to finish in the top two to obtain an automatic berth to the NCAA Championships. They now must wait to hear from the selection committee on Saturday.
Louisville won the men’s team race, followed by Virginia, Eastern Kentucky, Furman and NC State.
Stuart Robertson was the Hokies’ second finisher at the Southeast Regional, coming in 24th with a time of 30:07.4. He earned all-region honors for the second time in his career – the top 25 finishers earn all-region honors. Darren Barlow finished 35th for the Hokies, while Peter Seufer came in 40th. Daniel Jaskowak was 61st and Neil Gourley finished in the 63rd spot.
“We had three really good performances,” Thomas said, referring to Robertson and Seufer. “Peter Seufer is a true freshman and came in 40th in this region, where there is six ranked teams … It was an outstanding effort from him. We just didn’t have a whole lot behind that. Darren Barlow was steady. It’s just a tough region. You have one guy off on any day and you end up sixth.”
In the women’s race, the Virginia Tech squad finished in sixth place with 265 points. Virginia won the event with 53 points, followed by NC State, North Carolina, William & Mary and Eastern Kentucky.
Shannon Morton paced the Hokies, coming in 41st with a time of 22:05.4, which was 1:40 behind the winner, Letitia Saayman of Coastal Carolina. That marked the second time that Morton has been the Hokies’ top finisher this season. She came in 10th at the season-opening Hokie Invitational.
Also at the regional, Lauren Berman finished in 45th for the Hokies, and Amanda Swaak claimed 51st. Abigail Motley was 65th, and Julie Wiemerslage and Tessa Riley were 72nd and 75th, respectively.
“Considering we started the season unranked, not even in the top 15, they had a really steady, really solid finish,” Thomas said. “I’m excited for the future. We develop a couple of front runners in this group, and I think we can be more in the mix to get back to nationals.”
The NCAA Championships will be held Nov. 21 in Louisville, Kentucky.