Virginia cross country’s fall slate began in earnest Friday with the Virginia/Panorama Farms Invitational. The Cavaliers captured the title in both the men’s eight-kilometer and women’s six-kilometer races in the first weekend when points accrue toward at-large bids to the NCAA Championship.
A combination of rain earlier in the week and a stern September sun created humid conditions which proved less-than-favorable for cross country.
“It’s a humid day which snuck up on some people,” women’s coach Todd Morgan said. “It affected some of our times, but we won a lot of head-to-head competitions.”
The No. 10 Virginia women cruised to victory with 37 points — 22 off a perfect score. 26th-ranked William & Mary finished second with 74 points.
And with sophomore Maria Hauger, the Cavaliers’ presumed top runner, resting this weekend, the fissure between Virginia and the Tribe appeared even more remarkable.
“Today was a good start to the season,” Morgan said. “We got out and got after it. Moving forward, we have some things to work on, but it is only our first race.”
Single individuals do not make or break a winning team, and all five scorers stepped up for the Cavaliers. Sophomore Sarah Fakler earned her first collegiate victory when she crossed the line at 20:39.0. She also became the first Virginia woman to win at the Panorama Farms Invitational.
“It was a great feeling to win,” Fakler said. “I was surprised. It didn’t really hit me until after I crossed the finish line and realized no one passed me.”
The four other members of the scoring five all placed in the top 15 of the meet. Graduate students Iona Lake and Morgan Kelly finished fourth and eighth, respectively, while making their debuts in orange. Sophomore Sara Sargent placed ninth, and sophomore Cleo Boyd’s 15th-place effort rounded out the scoring five.
Friday’s win was the third for the Cavalier women in the six-year history of the meet.
Coach Pete Watson and his 13th-ranked men provided a gutsy, hard-fought victory as the event’s closing act. The Virginia men battled No. 12 Iona and unranked Furman all race long, emerging ahead of the pack with 47 points. The Paladins claimed second with 51 points, and the Gaels were third with 54.
“It was a good first step,” Watson said. “This was the best early-season performance in the last two years. We came out on top of a really close race, and the guys need to learn how to win if we want to accomplish our goals.”
Junior Kyle King finished third behind Auburn senior Ty McCormack and Iona freshman Gilbert Kirui. Virginia’s two through four finished close together, proving invaluable in a tight team competition. Junior Zach Herriott placed seventh, with sophomore Connor Rog immediately behind him in eighth. Sophomore Thomas Madden crossed the line in 10th.
“Overall, it was a good day,” King said. “We hold ourselves to a higher standard when we are at home. We wanted to go out and put ourselves in a good position. We’re where we want to be, but we need to focus on finishing stronger.”
Freshman Trevor Hopper ultimately won the race for Virginia. His 19th-place finish sealed the victory for the Cavaliers.
This year marks only the second time Virginia won both races at the Panorama Farms Invitational. It was the third victory for the men’s team at the event.
The Cavalier men will head to Seattle this weekend on a short turnaround for the Washington Invitational. The women’s team is inactive until the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational Oct. 17.
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