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Virginia men’s cross country competes at NCAA Championship

Senior Alex Corbett leads the Cavaliers to a top-20 finish

<p>Senior Alex Corbett finished 57th overall in the 10k race, posting a time of 31:33.9.&nbsp;</p>

Senior Alex Corbett finished 57th overall in the 10k race, posting a time of 31:33.9. 

The Virginia men’s cross country team headed to Terre Haute, Ind., to run in the NCAA Men’s Cross Country Championships Saturday at Indiana State’s LaVern Gibson Cross Country Championship Course. The Cavaliers finished 20th out of 31 teams in the championship, marking the 12th top-20 finish in the program’s history.

The Cavaliers ended up with 468 points while BYU took first place with 109 points, followed by last year’s champion, Northern Arizona and Colorado. The Lumberjacks finished with 163 points while the Buffaloes took third with 164 points.

Only two ACC programs placed better than Virginia with Notre Dame and Virginia Tech securing eighth and 17th, respectively. Despite finishing first at the ACC Championships earlier this month, Syracuse finished 27th this past weekend.

"Today's result was a bit of a mixed bag," said Vin Lananna, director of track and field and cross country. "We had some very positive performances. This season provided a springboard for the University of Virginia to be a consistent player on the national scene.” 

In total, Virginia had five scoring runners. Senior Alex Corbett finished 57th overall in the 10K race, posting a time of 31:33.9. The senior started off slow, holding 104th place at the 5K mark, but kicked it into high gear and moved into 62nd at the 8K split.

Sophomore Peter Morris was the next Cavalier to cross the finish line in 64th place with a time of 31.36.4, just three seconds after Corbett.

Seniors Randy Neish and AJ Earnst were the next two Virginia runners to finish, placing 110th and 159th, respectively. Neish had a time of 32:02.08 while Ernst finished with a time of 32:28.0. Senior Lachlan Cook was the final scoring runner for the Virginia men, running a time of 32:34.3 and finishing 170th.

The Cavaliers will look to build off of this performance during the upcoming indoor phase of the season.

"Overall, it has been a positive learning experience with several highlights along the way,” Lananna said. “We are excited to see what this group can do on the track as we transition towards the indoor season.”

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