A women's college cross country race is five kilometers long, and a men's race is eight. But the best way to measure Virginia's progress may be in baby steps.
Although both squads finished third behind Duke and runner-up William & Mary in Saturday's Lou Onesty Invitational, they took steps toward achieving their goal of qualifying for nationals.
Virginia's women scored five runners in the top 15, and the men, running without three of their top five harriers, managed their third-place finish behind Ryan Neuhart's surprising eighth-place showing.
Individually for the women, the star of the meet undoubtedly was senior Dawn Cleary, who finished the 5K in 17:55 -- placing her fourth overall.
"I think, now she's to the point where she's really solid," Virginia Coach Jason Dunn said of Cleary. "She's going to be up there in the front for us in every race, because that's what she expects of herself now that she's a senior. And I think now she's just got it figured out."
Also for Virginia, freshman Kara Scanlin -- an All-American last season in high school -- started her college career off with a bang. Coming in ninth, she was the Cavaliers' second runner across the line.
"She's really talented, and she's still kind of sick right now," Dunn said. "Once she gets well, I would expect to see her with Dawn."
Cleary led a strong pack that placed Virginia's first five runners within 11 spots and 20 seconds of one another. By comparison, William & Mary's first five were spread over 50 seconds.
"This is just the first race and we already had the girls in a big pack," Cleary said. "The only thing we can do is go from here, get a feel for each other, and just condense that pack more towards the front of the group."
On the men's side, Neuhart -- a junior who walked on to the team just last season -- energized the team with his surprising 24:59 performance in the 8K.
Apparently, Neuhart even surprised himself.
"I was just trying to hang with people," he said. "I just felt good, so I kept moving up."
Neuhart "had just a huge breakthrough for us," Dunn said.
Sophomore Walt Kingsberry, who finished second for the team and 11th overall, echoed Dunn's praise.
"He's a talented kid, and he works hard," Kingsberry said. "It was bound to happen. He's been knocking on the door the whole time, and I just hope the rest of us are ready to run with him."
Before the rest of the team can run with Neuhart, many will have to heal from injuries. Top runners Matt Ruhl, Andy Filachek and Will Christian sat out the race with injuries. Once they return from these injuries, Dunn feels that Virginia will be able to challenge nationally ranked squads like Duke and William & Mary.
"If we can stay healthy and get those three guys back in the lineup, we have a great chance of competing with those teams and going to nationals," Dunn said. "We really believe we can make it this year."
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