BOONE, N.C. – The VMI men's cross country team finished sixth at Friday's Blue Ridge Open, hosted by Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C. The Keydets finished just behind two Southeastern Conference schools, Kentucky and Mississippi State, despite VMI sitting out two of its top four runners.
Ermin Mujezinovic led the Keydets individually, finishing 19th overall on the 8K course in a time of 25:21. Andrey Dmitriev, competing in an individual race for the first time this season, was 23rd (25:28) to take the team's #2 spot with Ian McGinn and Felix Kitur sitting out.
“I feel like if we'd been at full strength, we could have finished fourth overall,” said VMI cross country coach Paul Spangler. “Still, to finish just behind two SEC schools while sitting out two strong runners, that shows how far this program has come and I'm very happy with this result.”
For the second straight race, Cabell Willis and Jordan White finished in a virtual dead heat, with Willis being credited with the higher position (58th/59th). Both runners finished in 26:20, just ahead of Jason Thorpe, who was 75th in a personal best time of 26:39. Andy Eddleton (90th/26:52), Marshall Dalessandro (96th/27:02), Frank Van Valkenburg (97th/PR of 27:02) and Hayden Hodges (120th/27:40) rounded out the VMI competitors.
“I thought Jason Thorpe ran a great race,” said Coach Spangler. “I was also very pleased with Frank Van Valkenburg, who significantly improved his personal best.”
The team standings saw the Keydets finish sixth with 177 points, just behind Mississippi State (160 pts.) and Kentucky (143 pts.). Appalachian State won the meet with 59 points, while High Point was second with 63 markers. Virginia Tech was third, finishing with 108 points.
VMI cross country will return to action Saturday, Oct. 30 as the Keydets travel to Blacksburg, Va. to take part in the Big South Championships, hosted by Radford University.
The women's cross country story will be delayed until later Friday night due to a timing issue at the race. We apologize for any issues this may cause.
