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BLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech runner Thomas Curtin became the second cross country runner in Tech history to win an ACC championship, beating a 134-runner field at the 2015 ACC Cross Country Championships held at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee on Friday morning.

Curtin joined former Tech runner Will Mulherin as the lone Hokies, men or women, to win an ACC cross country crown. Mulherin won the individual championship in 2012, leading the Hokies to the team title.

“It’s awesome,” Curtin said following his performance. “Winning the individual title against all those guys who are at a national caliber is fantastic.”

Curtin, who won his previous race at the NCAA Pre-National meet on Oct. 17, stayed near the front during the entire race, going back and forth among a pack that included Louisville’s Edward Kibichiy, Duke’s Shaun Thompson and Syracuse’s Martin Hehir, Colin Bennie and Justyn Knight.

Knight edged past Curtin with roughly 200 meters left, but Curtin used a swift kick in the final 100 meters to pass Knight and cross the finish line in a time of 23 minutes, 23 seconds, beating Knight by 1.4 seconds. Curtin’s time set a new course record.

“I was definitely worried,” Curtin said. “He’s a good kicker. He kicked past me at outdoor nationals in the 5K last year [Knight finished sixth; Curtin seventh]. I know he’s good as well. We’ve traded off those wins before. But I’m confident in my kick, so I knew when he slid past that I’d be able get right behind him and hang on and get him at the end.”

“This is a great win for Thomas,” Tech head cross country coach Ben Thomas said. “He’s now won five ACC individual titles between track and cross country, and he was the runner-up in 2013 [in cross country]. He played his kick perfectly and beat a very competitive field.”

Behind Curtin, the Hokies finished in fourth place with 120 points. Syracuse, with three runners finishing in the top five, won its third straight ACC team title. NC State claimed second, followed by Virginia.

Stuart Robertson was the second finisher for the men’s team, coming in 24^th with a time of 24:21.0. Neil Gourley (24:33.8) and Daniel Jaskowak (24:34.6) finished 30^th and 31^st, respectively, while Peter Seufer (24:37.3) came in 34^th and Darren Barlow (24:41.2) finished 39^th. Brent Musselman was 43^rd with a time of 24:52.1.

“Our time spread from first through fifth was just too big to do what we wanted as a team,” Thomas said. “But I felt the effort was there. We just came up a little short.”

Patrick Joseph (70^th), Vincent Ciattei (73^rd), and Gaige Kern (99^th) rounded out the Tech contingent.

Tech’s Seufer was named the ACC Freshman of the Year as the highest placing true freshman in the field.

“He’s off to a great start as a collegian,” Thomas said of Seufer.

On the women’s side, the Hokies finished in eighth place with 213 points. Virginia won the team title with 71 points.

Abigail Motley led all Tech women’s runners, finishing 37^th out of 131 runners with a time of 21:19.4. Katie Kennedy came in 39^th with a time of 21:20.3, while Lauren Berman finished 43^rd with a time of 21:28.8. Julie Wiemerslage and Amanda Swaak were 49^th and 50^th, respectively.

“The women ran very well as a pack with a spread of just 18 seconds from first through fifth,” Thomas said. “Everyone comes back next year from this group. If we develop a couple of front runners from this group, we’ll be in good position down the road.”

Other Tech runners at the ACC Championships included Shannon Morton (57^th), Tessa Riley (65^th) and Hanna Green (70^th).

Both squads return to action next Friday at the Hokie Open held at the Buford Meredith Cross Country Course on Tech’s campus. The first race starts at 4:30 p.m.

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