BLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech cross country teams are ready for pursuit of the ACC's crown jewel, as both squads will be competing Friday at the ACC Championships held at the Buford Meredith Cross Country Course on Virginia Tech's campus.
MEET INFORMATION
Date: Friday, Nov. 1
Location: Blacksburg, Virginia
Course: Buford Meredith Cross Country Course (host is Virginia Tech)
Times: men's race (10 a.m.); women's race (11 a.m.)
Distances: 6K (women), 8K (men)
Live results: (click here)
Broadcast coverage: (men's race - click here; women's race - click here)
Both Tech squads are coming off strong performances at the Under Armour Pre-National Invitational held Oct. 19 in Terre Haute, Indiana. Both teams came in seventh place out of more than 35 teams, with Peter Seufer's 19th-place finish leading the way for the men and Sara Freix's 23rd-place finish leading the women.
Two other Virginia Tech men's runners finished in the top 50 at the Pre-National Invitational – Fitsum Seyoum and Bashir Mosavel-Lo. Two others also finished in the top 50 on the women's side, with Sarah Edwards coming in 29th and Ellie Brush finishing 46th.
Here are some more meet notes:
ACC MEET RETURNS TO BLACKSBURG
The ACC meet is returning to Virginia Tech's home course for the first time since 2012 and for the second time since the school joined the ACC for the 2004-05 season. In 2012, the Virginia Tech men's team won the team title behind Will Mulherin, who won the individual race to give the men a clean sweep. Mulherin went on to earn All-America honors at the NCAA Championships that season, and today, he still stands as the only Tech cross country runner to become a two-time All-American – though Seufer could join him in a few short weeks.
LATEST RANKINGS
Both Virginia Tech teams enter the ACC Championships with national rankings according to the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). The Tech women's team comes in ranked No. 22, while the men's team is at No. 26.
SEUFER ONE OF THE GREATS
Seufer is the defending ACC champion in cross country on the men's side after winning the title last year at Franklin Park in Boston. Seufer, a redshirt senior from Lynchburg, Virginia, took the lead right from the start and stayed at the front for the entire 8K race. He and Wake Forest's Zach Facioni ultimately pulled away from the pack to set up a showdown in the final 1,000 meters. Seufer, though, stayed in the lead just ahead of Facioni and never relinquished it, out-kicking Facioni in the final few hundred meters to win. He finished in a time of 23:30.9 seconds, with Facioni just a half-second behind him.
Seufer became the men's program's 11th individual conference champion in cross country and the third ACC champion. He joined Mulherin (2012) and Tommy Curtin (2015) as men's runners to win an ACC title.
MORE ON SEUFER
Seufer has enjoyed a great career and could establish himself as maybe the greatest cross country runner in Tech history. No runner in men's program history has won two individual conference cross country titles, and provided he makes it to the NCAA Championships and runs well, Seufer could join Mulherin as the only two two-time All-Americans in program history.
HOT STREAK
Seufer has been nothing short of dominant on the cross country circuit over the past two seasons. He has finished in the top 20 in every meet in which he has competed during that span – a streak of nine consecutive meets. During that streak, Seufer has won twice (both in 2018, including the Paul Short Run and the ACC Championship) and finished second twice. He has finished in the top five in six of those nine meets.
FREIX PACING TECH WOMEN
Senior Sara Freix has led the Tech women's team over the course of the past two seasons. She earned All-ACC honors and All-Southeast Region honors in 2018 as the Hokies' top finisher in both of those meets, and this season, she won her first collegiate cross country race, taking home the top spot at the Virginia Tech Alumni Invitational on Sept. Her 23rd-place finish at the Pre-National Invitational also led the Hokies.
Freix has finished in the top 25 in seven of the eight meets in which she has competed over the past two seasons, including all three meets this fall.
HISTORY AT CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Tech men's team came in sixth in the team competition in 2018 – its lowest finish since coming in sixth in 2014. Since joining the ACC for the 2004-05 season, the Hokies have finished in the top five on nine occasions.
On the women's side, the Hokies came in fifth last season and have finished in the top five on five occasions. Their best finishes came in 2016 and 2017 when they came in third both years.
Overall, the Tech men's team has won 14 conference championships in cross country (11 in the Metro Conference, 2 in the Atlantic 10 and 1 in the ACC). The Tech women's team hasn't won a team title in cross country since 1987 when the Hokies won their third consecutive Metro Conference title.
HOME COURSE DOMINANCE
Virginia Tech's cross country teams have been dominant on the Buford Meredith Cross Country Course over the past two years. The Tech men's team has won team competitions at both home meets this season and won one last season, while the women's team has won one this season and won two in 2018.
