By Jimmy Robertson
BLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech cross country and distance coach Eric Johannigmeier expected Peter Seufer to perform well this fall, given his talent and experience.
Seufer certainly lived up to those expectations – and then some.
The redshirt junior from Lynchburg, Virginia headlined the Hokies' cross country efforts this fall and actually dominated the scene, winning two races, finishing second in two others and ultimately earning All-America honors. He won the ACC's individual crown at the league meet to become the third Tech runner in program history to win an ACC cross country title. He went on to finish second at the NCAA Southeast Regional and qualified for the NCAA Championships, where he came in 16th to earn All-America honors – the second-highest finish by a Tech runner in program history.
"I think Peter, when he came back [after the summer], he really was motivated to work hard during the fall, and I think it started showing in practice and then in competitions," Johannigmeier said. "It was just a gradual build-up, with winning the Paul Short [Sept. 29] and getting second at the Penn State meet [Oct. 12], which was very competitive. Looking at the guys he was racing with, I think we knew he was going to have a shot to be the ACC champion. Certainly, it's never easy, and you're always hoping he's going to be able to do it, but I think he put in what he needed to put in to put himself in position to be there. To win the ACC title, he's our third different guy in the last seven years to do it, and that's really exciting.
"To keep that energy and hunger to do better after a high like that was great. He 16th at cross country nationals, and he did it in a way where he stuck his nose up there with the leaders, put himself up there, was right there with the frontrunner through about 6-7K and was 15th at the 8K. To hold on to 16th after going out hard like that really showed how much he wanted it and the level of the runner that he is."
Now, the goal going forward for Johannigmeier and assistant Jason Cusack is to find more runners like Seufer.
The Hokies lacked a runner of Seufer's ilk on the women's side, but the Tech women were more consistent overall than the men this fall. The women's team finished in the top five at the ACC Championships for the third straight season, coming in fifth, with both Sara Freix and Lauren Berman finishing in the top 20. Freix was 13th, while Berman came in 17th, and both earned All-ACC honors.
Led by Freix's eighth-place finish, the Tech women also came in fifth at the NCAA Southeast Regional meet. They continue their trend of recent strong performances at regional meets, finishing in the top five for the fifth time in the past eight appearances.
"Freix and Berman were really steady the whole way," Johannigmeier said. "Certainly, Sara finishing eighth at the regional meet … she was one spot away from qualifying for the NCAA meet – they only take two at-large runners from all the regions, and it's based on your regional finish. Being the first one out from going is a great step for her. She has another year. Certainly, I would have liked for her to be at the NCAA Championships, but I think next year she'll be ready to make that jump. Hopefully, the team will be ready to make that jump."
The team loses Berman and Rachel Pocratsky, but the squad returns a nice nucleus next fall. Freix returns, and both Sarah Edwards and Kayla Richardson have earned All-Southeast Region honors at various points in their careers. Plus, Cate Stone, Ellie Brush and Emily Schiesl return – all with at least a year of experience.
"We have a decent amount coming back, and we have a good recruiting class coming in," Johannigmeier said. "I can remember in all the years we've been in the ACC that there were only a handful of times we'd finished fifth, but prior to 2016, we had never finished higher than fifth. Now, when we finish fifth, we're feeling just OK about it, so I think we're at a good point. This group of girls has set that bar, that expectation bar, high, which is great. We're hoping to build on that every year."
The Tech men hope to be better next year as well. The Hokies finished sixth at the ACC Championships and eighth at the NCAA Southeast Regional, but they were young, as only Seufer, redshirt junior Jack Joyce and redshirt sophomore Fitsum Seyoum entered the 2018 season with any experience.
The Hokies return all three of those runners and add Diego Zarate, who took a redshirt season this past fall while recovering from an injury. But Tech's future success probably hinges on the development of their redshirt freshmen – Ben Fleming, Bashir Mosavel-Lo, Osman Humeida, Will Griffen, Thierry Siewe Yanga and Dave Whitfield, who all gained experience this season.
"I think we were hoping to finish higher at ACCs and certainly finish higher at the regional," Johannigmeier said. "It was a good year in a sense that a lot of people got some experience racing … but I think we were hoping to do a little bit better.
"The nice thing is we return everybody, and we bring some people back that were redshirting. I think this was a good step toward next year, but certainly, I think we would have liked to have finished a little bit better."
The Hokies have high standards in distance running. There figured to be some slippage in team performances, as both programs lost some high-quality talent – Vincent Ciattei, Neil Gourley, Patrick Joseph and Katie Kennedy come to mind – but both squads feature a lot of gifted young runners. That group spent the fall getting their feet wet.
Looking ahead, hopefully that youth is served – both during track and field season this spring and during the cross country campaign next fall.