Freshman Jessica Fanning is the women's top collegiate finisher
BLACKSBURG, Va. - Virginia Tech men's and women's cross country teams claimed first place in their season-opening meet, Festival in the Fields, at the Tech Cross Country Course today."For the first half of the of the races both Tech "A" teams ran together. Towards the end our stronger runners pulled out ahead and finished strong. That's what we have been training hard for these past two weeks," said Ben Thomas, Tech's head coach.
In the men's six kilometer race, senior David Atkiss (Hatfield, Pa.) was the first Hokie to cross the finish line in 19:44..62, for a fourth place showing. Atkiss commented, "It felt good to be back and competing for Tech. I worked hard all summer to stay healthy and train. My time today showed that I have potential to accomplish my goals for the season."
The rest of Tech's "A" squad stayed in a pack and took the ninth through 12th places in the race. Senior Michael Lawson (Foster, R.I.) finished in ninth place with a time of 19:58.13 and three freshmen newcomers to the Hokie team grabbed 10-11-12. Billy Berlin (Midlothian, Va.) clocked 19:59.33 (10th), Zach Thomas (Sewickley, Pa.) had a time of 19:59.71 (11th) and Rider Clauss (Madison, Wisc.) finished in 20:01.01 (12th).
Tech's "B" squad was led by freshman Brian McVey (Arlington Hts, Ill.). McVey finished 21st with a time of 20:30.39. Sophomore Chris Scott (Virginia Beach, Va.) took 32nd place and junior Mike D'Amato (Midlothian, Va.) was 41st.
Josh McDougal of Liberty University won the men's race in 18:55.91.
Virginia Tech's "A" squad won the men's collegiate team scoring with 37 points. The Hokies had three top-ten individual finishers. Liberty took second place overall with 55 points. Wayne State University finished in third place with 72 points and Tech's "B" team had 126 points for fourth place. Concord University claimed fifth place and rounded out the top five teams. Milligan College grabbed sixth place, East Tennessee State took seventh, Roanoke College finished eighth and Longwood University was ninth.
Freshman Jessica Fanning (Charlottesville, Va.) was the women's four kilometer top collegiate finisher and was second place overall with a time of 14:52.41. "It was exciting to finish first on our team. I had a good start and we worked as a team to finish," stated Fanning. Fanning, a newcomer to the Hokie team, led Western Albemarle to the Virginia AA state championship title last year.
Senior Jessica Morris (Coatesville, Pa.) clocked 15:01.10 for third place. Morris said, "It was good to have a freshman run with me step by step. She kept calm and took the initiative to finish before me. Jessica (Morris) is a budding leader and I hope she keeps the intensity up all season."
Sophomore Jenn Dietz, junior Katie Danyko and freshman Jessica Erickson all ran for Tech's "A" squad. Dietz (Springfield, Va) finished in 10th place with a time of 15:37.63. Danyko (Sterling Heights, Mich..) was 12th and Erickson took 15th place.
Sophomore Heather Mullis (Virginia Beach, Va.) led Tech's "B" squad with a time of 15:58.86 (16th). Sophomores Meredith Brooks (Burke, Va.) and Samantha Ference (Clifton, Va.) finished in 22nd and 23rd places, respectively.
Trish Nervo (unattached) won the women's race in 14:45.76.
Virginia Tech's "A" squad won the team scoring with 34 points. The Hokies had three top-ten individual finishers. Liberty took second place with 41 points. Wayne State University finished in third place with 71 points and Tech's "B" team had 132 points for fourth place. East Tennessee State claimed fifth place and rounded out the top five teams. Longwood University grabbed sixth place, Roanoke took seventh, Milligan College "B" finished eighth and Milligan "A" was ninth. Concord College finished 10th.
The Hokies next meet is on Saturday, Sept. 18. Both teams will travel to in-state and new ACC foe, Virginia, for the UVa. Invitational.
Thomas added, "We will have several top individuals run in the upcoming meets that didn't compete today due to injury or eligibility reasons. With what I saw today and our upcoming talent, we are in a good position to have a good showing at the conference and regional meets."