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BLACSKBURG – Virginia Tech runner Thomas Curtin has been recognized as the Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Cross Country Performer of the Week following his performance at the NCAA Pre-National meet this past Saturday in Louisville, Kentucky.

Curtin picked arguably the nation’s most prestigious regular-season meet as the stage for his first career win in cross country, beating a 288-runner field at the meet held at E.P. Tom Sawyer Park in Louisville. He ran the 8K race in a career-best time of 23 minutes, 18.2 seconds, edging two-time defending national champion Edward Cheserek of Oregon by more than four seconds.

Curtin jumped out to a big lead and then held on at the end to edge Cheserek, who won the cross country national title as both a freshman and a sophomore. Curtin’s efforts led Virginia Tech to a sixth-place team finish in a loaded field that featured 11 ranked teams. The Hokies were among six other teams competing that were receiving votes in the poll.

On the women’s side, Notre Dame’s Molly Seidel was honored as the Women’s Performer of the Week. She finished second at the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational in Madison, Wisconsin.

Both Virginia Tech cross country teams are off this weekend. They will run again on Oct. 30 at the ACC Championships held in Tallahassee, Florida. The men’s race begins at 9 a.m.

For updates on Virginia Tech cross country, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_Track