The Virginia cross country teams capped off a long, rollercoaster season with a 15th-place finish for both the men's and women's squads at the NCAA Championships.
"For the men to be fifth in the region one week, [then] be 15th in the country, it is terrific," coach Jason Vigilante said. "Our women's team was phenomenal. Fifteenth place with Catherine White finishing fourth, it is just unbelievable. I am proud of both teams."
Coming off her first place finish at regionals, White's finish at the NCAA Championships helped to earn the junior All-American honors. She was also named the Southeast Region Athlete of the Year. Other scorers for Virginia were junior Stephanie Garcia in 37th, senior Lauretta Dezubay in 75th, sophomore Morgane Gay in 93rd and sophomore Laurel MacMillian in 182nd.
"I think overall we were very pleased with our result, and we walked away feeling pretty positive about it," White said. "We came in ranked 20th, so finishing 15th was pretty exciting and makes us want to do better next year."
For the men's team, meanwhile, junior Ryan Collins led the way for the Cavaliers in 36th, just short of gaining All-American honors. Additionally, junior Emil Heineking, one of the team's most successful runners this season, scored in 58th for the men's team. In his first NCAA championship, sophomore Sintayehu Taye came in 98th for the Cavaliers, followed by seniors Graham Tribble in 105th and Trey Miller in 111th.
Both teams began the year on a strong note, winning the Lou Onesty and George Mason invitationals. A third-place finish for the women at the ACC Championships, followed by a second-place finish at regionals paved the way for the squad to advance to nationals for the second straight season.
At the same time, the men ultimately proved unable to defend their ACC championship from a year ago, finishing in second place behind N.C. State. Though a somewhat disappointing fifth-place finish at regionals failed to give the team an automatic berth to the NCAAs, the men were selected for an at-large bid.
Considering it almost lost out on the chance to compete in the final week of the season, the men's team was particularly pleased with its finish.
"I think we came back and finished on a nice foot," Collins said. "The two races before, we were really disappointed with, and we were able to finish on a high note at nationals."
Much of the team's success would not have been possible without Heineking's contributions, who was the individual winner of each of the season's first four races.
"Emil is a fearless competitor who will challenge himself in the early stages of a competition and has the mental toughness to finish the race well," Vigilante said. "I know he inspires his teammates to get the most of their own abilities. What more could a coach ask of his athlete?"
Though the 2009 campaign has come to a close, the team is already looking forward to next season, which should feature more experienced squads.
"I am particularly excited in that of all the runners on both the men's and women's side, 14 athletes, 12 of them return next year," Vigilante said. "We have one of the best recruiting classes this year that totally red-shirted on the men's side and there are a number of ladies that I know will be able to fill some holes for us"
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