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BLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech cross country teams left Thursday to head to North Carolina for the 2016 ACC Cross Country Championships, which will take place Friday morning at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina.

The Tech men’s team is coming off a fourth-place finish at the Penn State National Open held Oct. 14 in State College, Pennsylvania. Andrew Gaiser paced the Hokies at Penn State by finishing 20th overall with a time of 25 minutes, 30 seconds.

On the women’s side, Katie Kennedy leads a relatively young squad that finished eighth last year at the ACC Championships. Behind Kennedy, the team has won two meets this fall and came in fourth and 11th, respectively, in two others. The Hokies were 11th at the Penn State meet nearly two weeks ago.

RANKED FOES

The Tech men’s team – currently ranked No. 26 nationally in the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll – is one of three ranked teams competing in the event, along with Syracuse and Virginia. The Orangemen, three-time defending national champions and three-time ACC champs, come in at No. 6 nationally, while the Cavaliers are 16th. Florida State is receiving votes.

The women’s field features two ranked teams, with NC State coming in at No. 3 and Notre Dame at No. 19. Syracuse and Virginia continue to receive votes in the poll as well. The Cavaliers won the ACC crown last year.

CONSISTENT RUNNERS

Gaiser has been the most consistent runner for the Tech men, having finished 20th or better in all four meets this season. His list of strong performances includes second-place finishes at the Hokie Invite and the Virginia Tech Alumni Invite.

Also, Daniel Jaskowak has been consistent, finishing in the top 21 of all four meets. He won the Hokie Invite and came in fourth at the Virginia Tech Alumni Invite.

On the women’s side, Kennedy is having a breakthrough fall, with top-25 finishes in all four meets. She finished second at both the Hokie Invite and the Virginia Tech Alumni Invite, came in 10th at the Greater Louisville Cross Country Classic and then was 23rd at the Penn State National Open in what was a very good field.

YOUNGSTERS IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Only three of the 10 who competed for the men’s squad at the ACC meet last year will be competing this year – Jaskowak, Brent Musselman and Vincent Ciattei. Veteran runners Neil Gourley and Patrick Joseph elected to take redshirt seasons, Stuart Robertson has missed the season with an injury, and Peter Seufer, who was the ACC Freshman of the Year last year, was diagnosed with mononucleosis a month ago, putting him out the remainder of the season.

Their absences leave much of the Hokies’ fortunes in the hands of runners like Jack Joyce, Daniel Rau and Baron Kieffer – all of whom will make their ACC debuts.

The Tech women’s lineup includes veterans Kennedy, Hanna Green and Shannon Morton, but also includes five freshmen – Laurie Barton, Ella Breidenstine, Sarah Edwards, Sara Freix and Kayla Richardson. Barton, Breidenstine, Freix and Richardson were among the Hokies’ top seven at the Penn State meet.

PAST ACC PERFORMANCES

The Tech men’s team hopes to improve on last year’s fourth-place finish in which Thomas Curtin led the squad by winning the individual crown. Tech last won the ACC team title in 2012, but the Hokies have finished fifth or better six times since joining the league for the 2004-05 academic year.

The Tech women haven’t enjoyed a ton of success at the ACC Championships. The program’s best finish came in both 2006 and 2007 when the Hokies finished fifth.

TIMES AND VIEWING INFO

The ACC Championships start Friday morning with the women’s 6k race, which commences at 10 a.m. The men’s race starts at 10:45 a.m. Both races will be carried live on the ACC Network, and the links can be found in the box above.

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