It took 21 years to return to Charlottesville, but the ACC title now rests with the No. 18 Virginia men's cross country team.
After Virginia junior Jan Foerster crossed the finish line in fourth place with a time of 24:00.4 Monday, four consecutive Virginia runners followed close behind.
With a 4-5-6-7-8 finish and all of its runners turning in times under 25 minutes, Virginia claimed the conference title over second-place No. 19 Florida State in the ACC Championships in Tallahassee, Fla.
"We are pretty excited," Virginia coach Jason Dunn said. "It was one of our goals for the season. They really ran as a team, and there was about a ten-second split between our first and our fifth runner, which is pretty remarkable in cross country."
Following Foerster, senior Soeren Lindner, juniors Ryan Foster and Andrew Dumm and freshman Andy Biladeau rounded out Virginia's top five. In recognition of their performances, six Virginia runners, including a crucial 13th place finish by junior Alex Tatu, garnered All-ACC honors.
"I could not have asked any one of our guys, one through eight, to do anything better," Dunn said. "All of the guys ran under 25 minutes, which is a pretty respectable time for a cross country run of eight miles. We had six guys make the All-ACC team, which is probably more than I have had in all of my five years here. It was a dominating performance."
Biladeau, who finished eighth with a time of 24:10.8, was awarded ACC Freshman of the Year for his championships and season-long excellence.
"He has been phenomenal," Dumm said. "He has helped through training and is a really lovable guy on the team. He races with a big heart out there. He did great because the next closest freshman was about ten spots behind him."
With the young legs of Biladeau and top-40 finishes by all Virginia runners, the Cavaliers were able to narrowly defeat their closest opponent, Florida State, by eight points.
"It was a really close race all the way through, and I frankly did not know," Dunn said. "You keep track of them as they go. But in cross country, it is different, especially when there are 100 runners out there. In the end, when they counted up all the points, we have an advantage because our pack was close together and so near the front."
Every runner's individual effort helped contribute to the team's success against a top-heavy Florida State team. Biladeau, who finished two seconds ahead of ninth place, held off two Seminole runners who finished behind him. Tatu finished just ahead of Florida State's fifth runner to earn necessary points for the victory. With the hard work and training stressed by the coaching staff all season, the Cavaliers were able to hold off all their opponents.
"The guys went out and competed the way that they have prepared all year long," Dunn said. "I guess it exemplifies the way that they have approached training and competing this season. It is awesome."
Now that the first step of Virginia's postseason expectations are complete, Nov. 12 marks the beginning of Virginia's next challenge -- tackling No. 16 William & Mary at the NCAA Southeast Regionals.
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