In our newest feature we are announcing our Top 10 Performances of 2014 by Virginia athletes. Check these out throughout the next couple days and see who and what made our list! 

#2 Andrew Hunter Wins Penn Relays 3K in National Sophomore Record 8:16.31

After this cross country season this decision became much harder. We knew we had to have Drew somewhere high on this list, he simply deserves that recognition but we had to decide what race it would be. Though he broke Sean McGorty's state meet record as a junior this year, the real performance that truly stands above the rest in our mind is his 3K win at the Penn Relays this past April. I am also sure that if you asked him, he would say that it was his greatest race as well. It was definitely his coming out race that people, including myself, realized he wasn't great, he was all-time. 

To put this 8:16.31 in perspective take a look at these names: Matthew Centrowitz, Alex Osterberg, Louis Colson, and Bobby Andrews. All of those names have one thing in common, they ran slower then Drew did in his first 3K, as a sophomore, at the Penn Relays. His time was a sophomore national record and second fastest in the relays history.

 You can never be absolutely sure, but we are pretty sure that this race, its execution and outcome, are a large part of why Drew has been so successful as of recent which makes this race just that much more important and impressive. We also believe that not having an indoor season is a huge blessing in disguise as it allowed him to train for months on end to prepare for this race. Don't be surprised this year if he breaks 8:00 and starts to chase German Fernandez's national record in the event. Even German didn't run as fast as Drew did which is more reason to believe that his 3K performance is hands down his best performance of 2014 and as a slight spoiler, the best individual performance of 2014. 

To see the full top ten click here: #10-6, #5, #4, #3