ATLANTA -- The Virginia men's and women's cross country teams both took third place at the 2002 ACC Cross Country Championships on Saturday. The Virginia women, currently ranked 16th in the nation, finished with 78 points, not far behind No. 4 Wake Forest and No. 6 N.C. State, who tied for first with 61 points each.
The Cavalier women also defeated two highly ranked teams -- No. 13 Duke and No. 15 North Carolina. On the men's side, Virginia took third with 95 points, while N.C. State took home the title, dominating the competition with 17 points.
Leading the women's team were freshman Kara Scanlin and junior Jane Maxwell, both of whom earned All-ACC honors for their top-10 finishes. Scanlin was seventh in the 5-km run with a time of 21:19.7, and Maxwell took 10th with 21:26.4. Senior Ellen Dwyer was right behind them in 11th, while senior Dawn Cleary took 21st.
Matt Ruhl led the men's squad in the 8-km race with his 11th place finish in 25:01.1, just missing All-ACC honors. Sophomore Will Christian took 17th place overall for the Cavaliers, and sophomore Walt Kingsbery and junior Andy Filachek finished 21st and 22nd, respectively.
Virginia Coach Jason Dunn said he was very satisfied with the performances of the men's and women's teams, both of which met their goal of being in the top three in the conference.
"I'm really happy with the results," Dunn said. "We certainly reached our goals on both sides. The women did a great job, and I think they can run even better at Regionals."
Dunn also had praise for the men's efforts after slipping to fourth in the ACC in 2001.
"The men's team made a huge improvement from last year," Dunn said. "We had six guys finish higher than our third man last year. Plus, it was nice to get back into the top three. The men ran great and just did everything they could."
As for freshman Scanlin, her first ACC championship experience was an eye-opening one. Because it was her first conference meet, she had no expectations going into the race -- only a sense of excitement and nervousness.
"I just wanted to run my best and help the team," Scanlin said. "We all wanted to do the best that we could as a team. I was very pleased with my race and was really surprised that I did that well."
As the cross country season comes to a close, the Cavaliers have a few more goals they would like to accomplish. Both teams hope to place high at the upcoming NCAA Southeast Regional meet in Greenville, N.C. on Nov. 16, and most importantly, they hope to qualify for the NCAA Championship meet in Terre Haute, Ind. on Nov. 25.
In order to qualify for Nationals, a team must finish first or second at their regional meet or earn an at-large bid. The men's team has not qualified for Nationals in 18 years, and the runners are hoping that is enough motivation to end the streak with a good showing at Regionals.
The women are aiming to continue their success after finishing ninth at last year's National Championship meet, the highest finish for the Cavaliers since 1982.
"We are looking forward to Regionals," Dunn said. "Both teams are in good position to do well."
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