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BLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech cross country runner Andrew Gaiser finished seventh in the men’s 8k race at the Greater Louisville Cross Country Classic held Saturday morning at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Kentucky.

Gaiser ran the course in a time of 24 minutes, 17.69 seconds, leading the Hokies to a first-place finish among the 21 Division I schools competing. Tech had 59 points, while Middle Tennessee State came in second with 62 and Louisville was third with 148.

“We had a pretty good effort today,” Tech distance coach Ben Thomas said. “The men got off to an aggressive start, which I wanted to see, but we struggled a bit in the middle of the race. We closed pretty well, though. We had a great 25-second spread from runners No. 1-5. If we can get those five runners home five seconds quicker, we’ll be closer to the goal.”

Louisville’s Edwin Kibichiy won the men’s race with a time of 23:34.80, followed by Middle Tennessee State’s Jacob Choge, who ran the course in a time of 23:37.23.

Peter Seufer was the Hokies’ second-best finisher, coming in ninth with a time of 24:23.90. Diego Zarate and Daniel Jaskowak finished 12th and 13th with times of 24:35.63 and 24:36.32, respectively.

Jack Joyce came in 18th with a time of 24:42.40, and Vincent Ciattei was 20th with a time of 24:45.56. Daniel Rau rounded out the scoring for the Hokies, finishing 36th with a time of 25:09.67.

On the women’s side, Katie Kennedy paced the Hokies’ efforts, coming in 10th in the 5k race with a time 17:15. Michigan’s Erin Finn won the women’s race, recording a time of 16:26.70.

Hanna Green was the Hokies’ second-best finisher, coming in 25th with a time of 17:35.10. Abigail Motley finished 30th, while Lauren Berman was 41st. Freshmen Laurie Barton, Sarah Edwards and Sara Freix came in 43rd, 47^th, and 54th, respectively.

Behind Kennedy, the Hokies came in fourth among the 26 Division I schools competing with 144 points. Michigan finished first with 40 points, followed by Butler (116) and Eastern Kentucky (131).

“Our women had a very efficient race, with just a 40-second spread between runners No. 1-7,” Thomas said. “Katie ran very well, and if we get two more girls right there with her, we’ll be in business.”

Both Tech teams now take two weeks off before competing in the Penn State National Open in State College, Pennsylvania on Oct. 14.

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