October 28, 2009

Eight Ranked Teams Highlight 2009 ACC Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships
The Atlantic Coast Conference kicks off the 2009 Fall Championships schedule on Saturday, October 31.

GREENSBORO, N.C. - The Atlantic Coast Conference kicks off the 2009 Fall Championship schedule on Saturday, October 31 with the Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships held at the WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.

The men's 8K race will start at 9:30 a.m., followed by women's 6K competition at 10:30 am.

A year ago, led by a pair of individual champions, the Virginia men and the Florida State women successfully defended their team titles at the conference's championship meet in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Virginia's Ryan Foster posted a first-place time of 24:27.7 on the 8K Ranson-Hamrick Course. Three other Cavaliers posted top-10 finishes as Virginia claimed its third ACC men's title in four years and its fourth overall.

Foster delivered a strong kick at the finish to place ahead of Boston College's Tim Ritchie (24:30) and Virginia Tech's Devin Cornwall (24:30.8). NC State's tandem of Bobby Mack (24:30.9) and John Martinez (24:33.8) rounded out the top five.

Virginia's men tallied 40 team points to place ahead of second-place NC State (56), Virginia Tech (75) and Florida State (80).

Florida State's Susan Kuijken, whose time of 20:11 in the women's 6K race edged Virginia Tech's Tas Fanning by six-tenths of a second, captured her second straight ACC title and keyed a dominating performance that saw the Seminoles place four runners among the top seven and five among the top nine.

Kuijken's strong finish was good enough to narrowly edge Fanning, while North Carolina's Brie Felnagle posted a third-place time of 20:23. FSU's Lesley Van Miert (20:32) and North Carolina's Lauren Holesh (20:36) completed the top five.

Florida State's 27-point performance outdistanced second-place Boston College (106) and third-place Wake Forest (112).

The men's competition will feature four teams that are currently ranked in the top 30 of the USTFCCCA poll. Virginia enters the championship as the highest ranked ACC team at No. 12 nationally, while Florida State is 21st, Duke 26th and NC State 30th. The Cavaliers are coming off a first-place finish at the Panorama Invitational two weeks ago. The Seminoles placed eighth in the White Division of the NCAA Pre-National Meet while the Wolfpack finished ninth in the Blue Division. The Blue Devils have two regular season team titles - JMU Invitational and the Great American Festival - to their credit.

The women's race will also feature four schools ranked in the top 30 of the USTFCCCA poll. Florida State enters the championship as the highest ranked ACC team at No. 6 nationally. The Seminoles are coming off a second-place finish in the Blue Division at the NCAA Pre-National Meet. Florida State is followed by Virginia 11th, Duke 16th and North Carolina 28th. The Tar Heels placed ninth in the White Division competition at the NCAA Pre-National Meet.