After finishing fourth at the Southeast regional race last weekend and receiving at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament, the men's and women's cross country teams are off this weekend to race in Terre Haute, Ind. for the second year in a row.
"We got accomplished what we were looking to do in terms of getting both teams in a position to win," Virginia coach Jason Dunn said. "I certainly would have liked to see us a spot or two higher as a team, but at the end of the day, the only thing that matters is getting to Nationals."
On the women's side, the Cavaliers will return six of the seven women that scored at last year's national meet. The women will run first Monday and hope to set a pace for the men to follow. To do so, the Cavaliers will count on All-ACC runners Emily Harrison, Kara Scanlin and Katie Read.
"If we can get someone to really step up and be fifth runner, then both teams will be successful," Dunn said. "The women run first, and hopefully they will finish high enough that the guys will have to go out and follow suit."
On the men's side, Virginia returns four runners from the six scorers that finished 26th last year at Nationals. Virginia will be led by Jan Foerster, Andrew Dumm and Alex Tatu. The Cavaliers have high ambitions for this year's race at Terre Haute.
"Our goal at the beginning of the season is to be in the top 15 at Nationals," Dunn said. "To do well at Nationals, if you can put a few in the top 25 and 50, then your going to do a lot better than if your first runner is back around 100."
The runners are all quite familiar with the relatively flat course at Terre Haute, and the course itself shouldn't present any direct challenges to the runners.
"It doesn't change things drastically -- maybe a little different strategy," Harrison said. "Usually we just try to get out and get in a good position but stay relaxed early on -- try to be patient but be in a good position."
The women's race will start at noon eastern time and the men's race will start at 1:15 p.m.
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