The Virginia men's and women's cross country teams faced their toughest challenges of the season Saturday, competing in the Southeast Regional Championships in Louisville, Ky.
With only the top two teams automatically qualifying for nationals, the season was on the line for both squads. While the Cavalier women punched their ticket to Terre Haute, Ind., with a second-place showing, the men were forced to rely on an at-large bid from the NCAA selection committee after their fifth-place finish.
Though the regional performance fell slightly short of the teams' overall expectations heading into the weekend, coach Jason Vigilante said he is confident the Cavaliers are ready to make their fourth joint national appearance in five years an impressive one Monday.
"I think without question we have worked very hard to do as well as we can up to this point," Vigilante said. "Sometimes there is no easy answer. We know we are the same group that did well at the Panorama meet; our women are essentially one of the same teams that has done so well all year. I am real confident that having a clean slate going into the NCAAs, we will be able to capitalize on that opportunity."
The women's team was looking to defend its 2008 Regional Championship title, but its performance was not enough to overcome Duke, which easily claimed the title by more than 40 points. The Cavaliers did have one winner on the day, however, as junior Catherine White captured the program's first-ever individual Southeast Regional Championship crown. In her first season with Virginia after transferring from Arkansas, White finished the 6K in 20 minutes, 3.9 seconds to top Western Kentucky senior Janet Jesang by nearly nine seconds.
"It was exciting," White said. "I'm just glad that I am feeling refreshed, and that I will have my legs under me for the race at nationals. It is a positive thing I can take away from it, but it's really about next Monday, and not necessarily just about regionals."
Joining White in earning regional honors were Virginia sophomore Morgane Gay (eighth) and seniors Lauretta Dezubay (25th) and Stephanie Garcia (19th), a Cavalier Daily tableau editor. Sophomore Laurel MacMillan rounded out the Cavaliers' scoring, as the team finished with 119 points.
Competing in its first 10K of the season, the men's team faced a more difficult challenge while trying to secure a national championship berth. No. 8 William & Mary led the way with 49 points, while No. 16 N.C. State, No. 24 Louisville and No. 30 Duke all managed to squeeze past the No. 19 Cavaliers, who had to rely on Sunday's selection to earn their fifth straight trip to NCAAs.
In what was a disappointing showing for one of the ACC's best runners, junior Emil Heineking saw his perfect season come to an end with a seventh-place finish. Also scoring for the Cavaliers were junior Ryan Collins (14th), senior Graham Tribble (21st), senior Trey Miller (44th) and sophomore Sintayehu Taye (47th).
"It wasn't our best race," Heineking said. "We are lucky to be through with regionals and will have a clean slate going into nationals."
Both squads are looking forward to their most significant races of the season.
"I think that the nice part is, for the men, we have put ourselves in a position where we will not have a lot of pressure," Vigilante said. "We still hope to do really well. It will be a nice experience and a lot of fun. For the women, I am very motivated. Our first four were All-Region, and Catherine was able to win, and it is pretty exciting for our teams."
The teams now have one week to prepare for the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute on Monday.
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