By Jimmy Robertson
Virginia Tech's football team opened its season this past Saturday in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, which coincidentally happens to be roughly six miles from the location of one of Peter Seufer's favorite collegiate memories.
Seufer, a redshirt senior on Virginia Tech's cross country team, won the ACC individual championship in cross country last fall at Franklin Park in downtown Boston and went on to earn All-America honors at the NCAA Championships. He became the third Tech runner ever to win an individual ACC crown and the seventh to earn All-America honors, and fortunately for Tech, he returns to lead the Hokies' pack this season.
"Overall, Peter had a great year last year," Tech distance coach Eric Johannigmeier said. "He's just a competitor, so he's hungry to come out and continue to improve and continue to have success, especially in cross country. We're hopefully going to continue to build off of last year."
Seufer's win also created a great memory for Johannigmeier, who was in his inaugural season as the Hokies' head cross country coach. Previously an assistant, Johannigmeier took over the program when Ben Thomas departed for the head men's job at Oregon.
Some may have questioned whether the Hokies would enjoy the same success under Johannigmeier, considering Thomas' long history of developing runners into champions. But Seufer and the performances of several distance athletes during track season made for not only a smooth transition, but a memorable first year.
"I think everything's been great," Johannigmeier said. "Certainly, Coach [Dave] Cianelli [Tech's director of track and field and cross country] overseeing all of track and cross country, he's really done a great job of helping the distance group and cross country teams have what we need to be successful. We've got a great group of student-athletes, and Virginia Tech is just a great place to train, but also is a great school and a great place to be.
"Everything has gone seamless, and the transition has been great, and the athletes have been great about wanting to be successful and wanting to keep that tradition of what Virginia Tech has done in track and cross country. They want to build on that tradition, so it's all been really great."
Johannigmeier hopes his teams' take the next step this fall toward continuing that tradition. The Tech men's team, which came in sixth at the ACC Championships last fall, appears ready to make a run for the team title. On the men's side, the Hokies return their entire roster and will be paced by three seniors – Seufer, Diego Zarate and Jack Joyce. Joyce finished 44th at the ACC meet last fall, while Zarate is back after taking a redshirt season in 2018 to rehab from an injury.
Redshirt junior Fitsum Seyoum and redshirt sophomore Bashir Mosavel-Lo also return. Seyoum was 34th at last year's ACC Championships, with Mosavel-Lo coming in 44th. Both won ACC gold medals in track and field this spring, with Seyoum taking the title in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and Mosavel-Lo winning the 800-meter run. Both figure to be significant contributors to the Hokies' lineup this fall.
Others hoping to make an impact include redshirt sophomores Will Griffen, Ben Fleming, Osman Humeida, Thierry Siewe Yanga and Dave Whitfield, along with a large group of redshirt freshman.
Overall, the squad features depth, talent and potential.
"We had a lot of guys who made some big strides in track [last spring]," Johannigmeier said. "I think those guys will continue to step up and build on what they've done the past couple of years.
"We're always hoping for surprises. I think we've got a lot of depth on our team, which is good, and it seems like the guys had a good summer. You never know who will step up, but I think we've got a good group and certainly a lot of youth that is hopefully excited and ready to make it a good season."
On the women's side, the Hokies came in fifth at the ACC Championships last fall, but saw seniors Lauren Berman, Rachel Pocratsky and Shannon Quinn all depart after the season. Berman enjoyed the best season of her career, too, earning All-ACC honors for the first time.
The Hokies do return their leader in senior Sara Freix, who finished in the top 15 in four meets last fall. Her 13th-place finish at the ACC Championships marked a career best in cross country and paced the squad, and Johannigmeier expects even more this fall.
"Sara's been great," Johannigmeier said. "She's been consistently improving over her three years here, and she definitely had her best summer, which is great. I think she's really motivated after the track season. She's reached a high level, but I think she sees that next level and wants to continue to go after that, which is really exciting to me."
Other expected contributors include senior Sarah Edwards, who has won in cross country, taking the title at the Virginia Tech Alumni Invite last season, and senior Kayla Richardson, who finished 35th at the ACC Championships last fall, but earned All-ACC honors two seasons ago. Plus, Kyra Lopez, a graduate transfer from Boise State, came in 26th at the NCAA Mountain Regional last fall, which is arguably the most competitive regional in cross country.
"Those four [Freix, Edwards, Richardson and Lopez], just having really competed at a high level in cross country, are going to be our core nucleus," Johannigmeier said.
Others in the mix include Ellie Brush and Ella Breidenstine, who each recorded two top-10 finishes in 2018. Johannigmeier also brought in nine freshmen and will need for some of them to contribute for the Hokies to improve on last season's team performance.
Both teams' success this season will be determined by how each fares at the ACC Championships on Nov. 1 – which will be held at the Buford Meredith Cross Country Course on Tech's campus. The last time Tech played host to the league's cross country meet, the men's team won the title.
"It'll be a lot of fun," Johannigmeier said. "We train on that course a lot. I know a lot of seniors commented on how, out of all the track meets and cross country meets they've run in their careers, having ACC indoors at home [the ACC indoor meet was at Rector Field House last February] was the most special experience they've ever had. Having the ACC meet at home with great crowd support and fans … it just creates a special atmosphere. The home course creates a great advantage, and we're looking forward to having all of the support out there cheering us on. It's going to make it a special meet."
Both squads open the season Friday with the Virginia Tech Invitational at the Buford Meredith Cross Country Course. But the true finish line appears Nov. 1 with the ACC meet.
And for sure, at that time, both Tech squads hope to be setting the pace.