BLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech women's cross country team opened its season at the Buford Meredith Cross Country Course by dominating the field with a perfect 15 point score. The top-five women crossed the line in near perfect unison finishing tenths of a second behind one another. The men's team claimed first with 20 points scoring second through sixth.
The Hokies finished in the top seven spots in the women's 4k leading the pack throughout the entire race. Ava Hassebrock and Grace Boone crossed the line first and second with a time of 14:44.1, followed by Sarah Leach in third (14:44.2), Hannah Ballowe in fourth (14:44.4), and Cheyenne Leathem in fifth (14:44.4).
"Today was a good start for both teams," said head coach Eric Johannigmeier. "We took care of our race routines and competed well. We look forward to getting in some good training and competing again soon."
In the men's race, Antonio Lopez Segura led the team scoring second with a time of 18:31.6. Declan Rymer followed closely behind scoring third with a recorded time of 18:31.7. Scoring fourth, Arnac Tikhe stopped the clock at 18:38.5, followed by David Whitfield in fifth (18:50.8), and Viktor Idhammar in sixth (18:58.9).
The Hokies return to the course in Blacksburg on Sept. 16, hosting the Virginia Tech Alumni Invitational. The alumni 4k is set for 5:30 p.m. followed by the women's 6k at 6:00 p.m. and the men's 8k at 6:40 p.m.
Virginia Tech Invitational
Sept. 2 - Blacksburg, Va.
Full Results - pdf
Hokies - Top Seven
Women's 4k - 15 points
1. Ava Hassebrock - 14:44.1
2. Grace Boone - 14:44.1
3. Sarah Leach - 14:44.2
4. Hannah Ballowe - 14:44.4
5. Cheyenne Leatham - 14:44.4
6. Nicole Re - 14:52.8
7. Chase Kappeler - 14:57.0
Men's 6k - 20 points
2. Antonio Lopez Segura – 18:31.6
3. Declan Rymer - 18:31.7
4. Arnav Tikhe - 18:38.5
5. Dave Whitfield - 18:50.8
6. Viktor Idhammar - 18:58.9
7. Mikey Zedan - 19:00.3
8. Will Jones - 19:01.9