Virginia Tech cross country runner Peter Seufer was named the men's NCAA Southeast Region Athlete of the Year by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association this past Friday.
Seufer, a redshirt senior from Lynchburg, Virginia, won the individual title at the NCAA Southeast Region meet held Friday morning at Panorama Farms just outside of Charlottesville, Virginia. He went to the front right from the start at the regional and stayed in the lead, or in the lead pack, the entire race, pulling away in the last 1,000 meters of the 10K race to win in a time of 29 minutes, 20.7 seconds – his career best at this distance.
Behind Seufer and all-region performances from Fitsum Seyoum and Diego Zarate, the Virginia Tech men's cross country team came in second place at the regional 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 received automatic bids to the NCAA Championships.
The Tech men's program will be making its eighth appearance at the NCAA Championships being held next Friday in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Seufer earned All-Southeast Region honors for the third time in his career. He also won the ACC title on Nov. 1, and he now has won two ACC titles, an NCAA regional title, finished second at the 2018 Southeast Region meet and earned All-America honors in 2018 in each of the past two seasons.
The NCAA Championships will be held Saturday at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course located in Terre Haute. The women's race will begin at 11:15 a.m. EST, followed by the men's race at 12:15 p.m. EST.
