Virginia Tech distance runner Peter Seufer continued his career trend of late-season excellence, winning the NCAA Southeast Regional cross country meet held Friday morning at Panorama Farms just outside of Charlottesville, Virginia.
Behind Seufer and all-region performances from Fitsum Seyoum and Diego Zarate, the Virginia Tech men's cross country team came in second place and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. The Hokies accumulated 109 points, coming in just behind host Virginia in the race for the team crown. The top two teams in each region receive automatic bids to the NCAA Championships.
The Tech men's program will be making its eighth appearance at the NCAA Championships being held next Saturday in Terre Haute, Indiana.
The Tech women's team stands a great chance of receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships after finishing third at the Southeast Regional. Sara Freix's seventh-place finish and all-region performances by Kyra Lopez, Sarah Edwards and Ellie Brush led the way for the Hokies, who scored 116 points and finished behind winner NC State and Furman.
"Great day overall for both the men and the women" Tech distance coach Eric Johannigmeier said. "They went out and excited the plan and fought hard for each other. To finish second and third, with seven all-region runners between the two sides, is something for this group to be proud of."
Seufer, who won the individual crown at the ACC Championships two weeks ago, went to the front right from the start at the regional. He stayed in the lead, or in the lead pack, the entire race and then pulled away in the last 1,000 meters of the 10K race to win in a career-best time of 29 minutes, 20.7 seconds.
Seufer, a redshirt senior from Lynchburg, Virginia, now has won two ACC titles, an NCAA regional title, finished second at the 2018 Southeast Regional and earned All-America honors in 2018 in each of the past two seasons.
"It's great to see Peter come away with the victory individually," Johannigmeier said. "He's done so much for the program, and it's a nice win for him leading into the NCAA Championships."
Seyoum followed his All-ACC performance two weeks ago with an All-Southeast Region effort Friday. He came in ninth with a time of 30:06.9 and earned all-region recognition for the first time in his career. So, too, did Zarate, who came in 22nd with a time of 30:36.9.
Two other men's runners finished in the top 50 for the Hokies. Bashir Mosavel-Lo was 38th with a time of 31:01.2, while Antonio Lopez Segura finished 39th with a time of 31:03.0.
On the women's side, Freix finished the 6K race in a career-best time of 20:14.5. Lopez came in 13th with a time of 20:29.1, while Edwards was 15th at 20:35.8. Brush came in 22nd with a time of 20:53.3.
Lindsey Butler and Grace Boone also registered top-70 performances. Butler was 64th with a time of 21:39.8, while Boone finished 68th with a time of 21:45.2.
MEET NOTES
• Seufer earned All-Southeast Region honors for the third time in his career.
• Seufer's previous career-best time at the 10K distance was 29:25.3, which he set at the 2017 Southeast Regional.
• Freix's previous career-best time was 20:15.8 at last year's regional in Rock Hill, South Carolina, so she bested that by 1.3 seconds.
• Freix and Edwards became two-time All-Southeast Region honorees. Freix earned all-region honors last year, while Edwards earned hers in 2017.
• Edwards set a career-best time at the 6K distance by less than 7 seconds. She ran 20:42.4 at the Pre-National Invitational several weeks ago.
• Brush, Seyoum, and Zarate both earned All-Southeast Region honors for the first time.
• Brush recorded a career-best time at the 6K distance by 2 seconds.
• Seyoum shattered his career-best time at the 10K distance. His previous best of 30:49 came last season at the Southeast Regional.
• Like Seufer and Seyoum, Mosavel-Lo set a career best with his time. His previous best was 32:00.2, which he set at last year's regional.
UP NEXT
The NCAA Cross Country Selection Show will be held Saturday at 5 p.m. and can be watched on the NCAA website at NCAA.com. The NCAA Championships will be held Saturday, Nov. 23 in Terre Haute, Indiana.Gallery: (11/15/2019) 2019 CROSS COUNTRY NCAA REGIONAL MEET
