BLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech distance runner Fitsum Seyoum finished in fourth place to highlight the performances of the Virginia Tech cross country teams at the Virginia Tech Invitational held Friday evening at the Buford Meredith Cross Country Course on Tech's campus.
The meet featured squads from NC State and Duke, and it marked the Hokies' season opener. NC State won the meet on both the men's and women's sides.
Seyoum, a senior from Leesburg, Virginia, ran the 8K race in a time of 25 minutes, 02.3 seconds. Antonio Lopez Segura also registered a top-10 finish for the Hokies, coming in seventh with a time of 25:07.6 – a career-best time at this distance for Segura.
Both runners finished behind winner Joe Bistritz of NC State. Bistritz ran the distance in a time of 24:37.3, beating teammate JP Flavin by a little more than 2 seconds.
Other top finishers for the Hokies included Osman Humeida (14th, 25:17.7); Ben Fleming (16th, 25:22.4); and freshman Sean Stuck (17th, 25:23.0).
On the women's side, NC State took the top five spots. Senior Hannah Steelman won the race, running the 6K distance in a time of 20:36.2.
Tech's Lindsey Butler paced the Hokies with an 11th-place finish. The sophomore ran the distance in a time of 21:31.3. Grace Boone also had a top-20 finish for Tech, coming in 18th with a time of 22:03.2.
Both Tech squads return to competition on Oct. 16 when the Hokies travel north to Earlysville, Virginia outside of Charlottesville to compete in the Panorama Farms Invitational. Race action starts at 5 p.m.Gallery: (9-26-2020) 2020 CROSS COUNTRY VIRGINIA TECH INVITATIONAL
