Dmitriev Leads VMI at SE Regional Championships

Men's Cross Country VMIKeydets.com

Kitur and Dmitriev Lead VMI at Big South Championships

BLACKSBURG, Va. – Felix Kitur and Andrey Dmitriev each earned All-Big South honors, helping VMI post a third-place finish at the 2010 Big South Cross Country Championships, held Saturday in Blacksburg, Va.

Kitur led VMI with his first career All-Big South finish in the cross country ranks, adding another chapter to his lengthy athletic resume by placing eighth overall in the 8K event. He ran down Dmitriev on the final straightaway, after the sophomore had caught him about three-quarters of the way through the event. Kitur's final time was 25:20, ahead of Dmitriev's personal best 25:21, which was the ninth-place effort.

“The men ran exceptionally well,” said VMI head coach Paul Spangler. “Felix, Andrey, Ermin Mujezinovic and Ian McGinn all ran particularly good races, and the team outperformed even my expectations today. We return most of this team, and certainly believe we can be in contention for a top-two spot in years to come.”

Liberty won the overall team title with 33 points and swept the top three individual spots, including a dominating win by defending national champion Sam Chelanga. High Point finished second with 45 points, ahead of VMI's 69 markers and Winthrop's 134 points. Host Radford finished fifth with 153 points, UNC Asheville was sixth (162 pts.) and Coastal Carolina (205), Charleston Southern (209) and Gardner-Webb (247) rounded out the team results.

Continuing the VMI standings, Ermin Mujezinovic was 14th in 25:44, while Ian McGinn was 17th with a personal best time of 26:01. Freshman Cabell Willis continued his strong first collegiate season, finishing 22nd (26:27), while Marshall Dalessandro was 27th overall (26:48). Frank Van Valkenburg continued his emergence with his second consecutive personal best, a 29th-place run in 27:00, while Andy Eddleton was 34th (27:13). Jordan White (43rd, 27:32) and Jason Thorpe (45th, 27:40) rounded out the Keydet competitors.

“I thought the men ran very well this morning,” said VMI's Director of Track and Field and Cross Country, Darrin Webb. “I knew they were capable of a great effort, but I could not have reasonably asked for more than what we saw today. Coach Spangler did a good job preparing the team, and they went out and did what they were capable of. We look forward to returning the majority of this team in 2011.”

VMI men's cross country will be back in action Saturday, Nov. 13, as the team travels to Louisville, Ky. for the NCAA Regional Championships.

2010 Runner of the Year
Sam Chelanga, Liberty
 
2010 Freshman of the Year
Patrick Crawford, High Point

2010 Big South All-Conference Team
Sam Chelanga, Liberty
Evans Kigen, Liberty
Josh Edmonds, Liberty
Neal Darmody, High Point
Adam Freudanthal, Winthrop
Patrick Crawford, High Point
Kyle Kling, Coastal Carolina
Felix Kitur, VMI
Andrey Dmitriev, VMI
Jevin Monds, High Point
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Players Mentioned

Marshall Dalessandro

Marshall Dalessandro

Junior
Andrey Dmitriev

Andrey Dmitriev

Sophomore
Andy Eddleton

Andy Eddleton

Freshman
Felix Kitur

Felix Kitur

Senior
Ian McGinn

Ian McGinn

Sophomore
Ermin Mujezinovic

Ermin Mujezinovic

Senior
Jason Thorpe

Jason Thorpe

Sophomore
Frank Van Valkenburg

Frank Van Valkenburg

Sophomore
Jordan White

Jordan White

Freshman
Cabell Willis

Cabell Willis

Freshman

Players Mentioned

Marshall Dalessandro

Marshall Dalessandro

Junior
Andrey Dmitriev

Andrey Dmitriev

Sophomore
Andy Eddleton

Andy Eddleton

Freshman
Felix Kitur

Felix Kitur

Senior
Ian McGinn

Ian McGinn

Sophomore
Ermin Mujezinovic

Ermin Mujezinovic

Senior
Jason Thorpe

Jason Thorpe

Sophomore
Frank Van Valkenburg

Frank Van Valkenburg

Sophomore
Jordan White

Jordan White

Freshman
Cabell Willis

Cabell Willis

Freshman