Curtin named National Athlete of the Week

November 3, 2015

Tech cross country runner garnered the accolades after winning the ACC title last Friday

BLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech cross country runner Thomas Curtin was named the NCAA Division I Men’s National Athlete of the Week by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association on Monday.

Curtin, a redshirt senior from Leesburg, Virginia, won the ACC’s individual men’s cross country crown at the 2015 ACC Cross Country Championships held Friday at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Florida. He set a course record, running the 8K event in a time of 23 minutes, 23 seconds.

Curtin was in the lead pack for the entire race and led for much of it. In the final 200 meters, Syracuse’s Justyn Knight passed him, but Curtin out-kicked Knight down the stretch and crossed the finish line ahead of Knight by 1.4 seconds.

The win marked the second of the season for Curtin, who also won the NCAA Pre-National meet held Oct. 17 in Louisville, Kentucky. In that race, he beat the two-time defending NCAA champion, Ed Cheserek of Oregon.

The Tech men’s and women’s cross country squads compete again this Friday at the Hokie Open, which will be held at the Buford Meredith Cross Country Course on Tech’s campus. The first race is at 4:30 p.m.

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