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Cross Country teams qualify for NCAAs

Strong showings at Panorama Farms propel Cavalier men, women to automatic tournament bids

Panorama Farms quickly turned into a scene of unadulterated joy Friday for the Virginia men’s and women’s cross country teams as both qualified for next weekend’s NCAA Championship meet. The No. 11 women captured first place, beating No. 19 William & Mary while the men finished second, trailing only No. 17 Eastern Kentucky.

Friday’s action began with the men’s 10km race. Sophomore Kyle King and senior Thomas Porter stayed with the pack early, but Porter surged ahead once the pace slowed. Porter held the lead for a short distance before finishing ninth while King held steady and placed fifth with a time of 28:53.7.

Behind King and Porter, sophomore Zach Herriott was 18th, redshirt freshman Adam Visokay was 32nd and junior Drew Paisely was 34th to round out the five Cavaliers that scored points. King, Porter, and Herriott were All-Southeast Regional selections.

Despite having two top-10 finishers, it was the strong effort by the back three that assured the team would have a successful showing in the final tally.

“The guys in the back were the ones that won it for us.” Porter said. “Kyle and I did our jobs, but it was the guys in the middle fighting for every spot.”

Virginia likely would not have been selected for an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships had they not finished in the top two during the meet.

“I told the boys that we were going out swinging,” Watson said. “There was no consolation for finishing third. It came down to who wanted it more in the last two kilometers, and they wanted it more than anyone else.”

The women’s team would not be outdone by the Cavalier men, finishing with 57 points and defeating the second-place Tribe by a 12-point margin. Senior Barbara Strehler continued a great season by finishing the 6km race in third place.

Injuries plagued Strehler in the beginning of her collegiate career, but she has been healthy for the better part of a year-and-a-half and has shined for the Cavaliers since. Strehler ran the fourth fastest 5000m time in school history at the NCAA East Preliminaries last spring to qualify for the NCAA Championships for the first time in her career.

“Her first few years had spots of success with a lot of letdowns,” women’s coach Todd Morgan said. “She has strung together about 18 months of solid work, and it is a testament to her work ethic.”

Rounding out the other top female finishers, freshman Maria Hauger placed ninth, fellow freshman Sarah Fakler placed 11th, redshirt freshman Cleo Boyd placed 14th and junior Kathleen Stevens’ placed 20th. All five runners received All-Southeast Regional honors.

The Cavalier women were practically assured an at-large bid to the NCAA championships had they not finished in the top two, but they were determined to make a strong impression nonetheless.

“We tried to execute what we’ve been doing all season” Hauger said. “We wanted to run together, push ourselves and see where it took us.”

This season marks only the sixth time in school history that both teams will compete at the NCAA Championships in the same season.

“There aren’t going to be a lot of teams with the men’s and women’s teams at the meet,” Morgan said. “We will take a lot of pride to be in that class.”

The NCAA Championships will take place Saturday in Terre Haute, Ind.

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