Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG – Five Virginia Tech men’s cross country runners finished in the top 10 overall to enable the Tech men’s team to capture the team title at the Virginia Tech Alumni Invite held Friday evening at the Buford Meredith Cross Country Course on Tech’s campus.
Vincent Ciattei paced the Hokie contingent, finishing fifth and running the 8K course in a time of 25 minutes, 11.5 seconds. Peter Seufer, Jack Joyce and Andrew Eason finished in spots 6-8, while Daniel Jaskowak came in 10th. The Hokies finished with 36 points, besting ACC rival Florida State, which finished second with 55 points. East Tennessee State, Morehead State and Ohio rounded out the top five on the men’s side.
Ben Fleming, Brent Musselman and Will Griffen each recorded top-30 finishes for the Hokies. Fleming, a freshman from Blacksburg who ran unattached, came in 13th with a time of 25:20.5, while Musselman finished 28th with a time of 25:48.1. Griffen, another freshman who ran unattached, was 29th.
On the women’s side, the Hokies saw two of their runners finish in the top 10, and they guided the team to a third-place finish in the team race. Lauren Berman led the way with a fifth-place finish, running the 6K course in a time of 21:39.4. Sara Freix was sixth with a time of 21:40.4. Militsa Mircheva of Florida State won the women’s race with a time of 20:45.
The Seminoles swept the top three spots in claiming the women’s team title with 25 points. Ohio came in second with 55 points, while the Hokies were third with 87.
Tech also got top-20 finishes from Amanda Swaak and Alyssa Shupe. Swaak came in 14th with a time of 22:19.8, while Shupe ran the course in a time of 22:35 to finish 19th. Tech’s Katy Lobeda ran unattached and was 23rd.
Both teams now take a week off before heading to Louisville, Kentucky to compete in the Greater Louisville Classic on Sept. 30.