Tech cross country teams in Louisville for ACC Championships

The 11th-ranked men's team seeks its second title in program history, while a young women's team hopes to surpass last year's third-place finish

October 26, 2017

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – For the third time in less than a month, the Virginia Tech cross country teams are in Louisville, only the prize for this trip is much bigger – the ACC championship.

Both squads are set to compete in the annual ACC Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships to be held Friday morning at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park outside of Louisville. The site serves as the host for the league’s meet for the first time, but Virginia Tech’s teams ran here Sept. 30 in the Louisville Sports Commission Cross Country Classic and Oct. 14 in the Adidas Pre-National Invitational.

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Led by sophomore Peter Seufer and four other seniors, the Tech men’s team enters the meet ranked No. 11 nationally in the latest United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) national poll. The Hokies are hoping to dethrone Syracuse, which has won the ACC title the past four years and currently stands at No. 4 in the USTFCCCA poll.

Seufer leads the way for Tech, having been the Hokies’ top finisher in each of the past two meets and having finished in the top 15 in every meet that he has competed in the past two years. He finished second at the Adidas Pre-National Invitational two weeks ago, running the 8K course in a time of 23 minutes, 10.4 seconds – a career-best time for him at that distance. He just missed on winning the race by less than three seconds.

Seniors Daniel Jaskowak, Patrick Joseph and Neil Gourley figure to be near the front as well. Jaskowak, who earned All-ACC honors a year ago, has finished in the top 25 in each of his three meets this season.

On the women’s side, the Hokies enter the meet receiving votes in the latest USTFCCCA poll and will be looking to upset fifth-ranked NC State, the defending champion. Tech finished third at the ACC Championships last year – its best finish as a program since the school joined the league for the 2004-05 academic year.

Katie Kennedy anchors the women’s team as the lone senior despite having run in just two meets this season. Kennedy, an All-ACC performer last year, won the season-opening Hokie Invite (4K) and was the Hokies’ top finisher at the Adidas Pre-National Invitational (6K), running the course in a time of 20:44.5.

Sophomores Sarah Edwards, Laurie Barton, Sara Freix, Kayla Richardson and Amanda Swaak, along with juniors Lauren Berman and Rachel Pocratsky, all will be searching for top-25 finishes. Edwards and Barton recorded career-best times for the 6K distance at the Adidas Pre-National Invitational, and Richardson was the Hokies’ top finisher at the Louisville Sports Commission (5K) meet in late September.

Both Tech teams were picked to finish fourth in the ACC this season according to a preseason poll among the league’s head coaches. The Hokies begin their quest toward surpassing those expectations Friday morning when the men’s team gets things started at 10:03 a.m. The women’s race starts at 11:03 a.m.

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