Junior Rohann Asfaw (Rockville, Md.) turned in the fastest time of the day, leading the No. 23 UVA men’s cross country to a first-place finish at the Cavalier Classic at Panorama Farms on Saturday.
The Cavaliers placed all five of their scoring runners in the top 10 to score 29 points and finish first in the team competition. Duke placed second with 37 points, while North Carolina finished third with 64 points. Tennessee recorded 131 points for fourth place while Norfolk State finished fifth with 132 points.
“We had a great event out at Panorama Farms today and it was a nice start for the men’s group,” head men’s cross country coach Jason Dunn said. “It’s still quite early in our season and there is a lot we can improve upon, but I was definitely pleased with a couple of our younger guys, particularly Rohann (Asfaw) and Peter (Morris) who both are clearly much improved from a year ago.”
Asfaw recorded a time of 24:25.7 to finish first by nearly two seconds. Senior AJ Ernst (Marblehead, Mass.) crossed the finish line moments later, recording a time of 24:29.7 for fourth place, while sophomore Peter Morris (Hamilton, Va.) placed sixth with a time of 24:31.8. Redshirt seniors Alex Corbett (Burke, Va.) and Ari Klau (West Hartford, Conn.) rounded out UVA’s scoring runners finishing eighth and 10th, respectively. Corbett ran a time of 24:39.7, while Klau recorded a time of 24:41.0.
The Cavaliers will return to Panorama Farms on Sept. 27 as the team hosts the Virginia/Panorama Farms Invitational.
UVA women finish third
The Virginia women’s cross country team was led by junior Hannah Moran (Salem, Va.) on Saturday (Sept. 14) as the team recorded a third-place finish at the inaugural Cavalier Classic at Panorama Farms.
The Cavaliers finished third in the team standings, recording 72 points. Tennessee won the meet with 36 points, while North Carolina placed second with 42 points. Maryland and Norfolk State rounded out the team standings, scoring 75 and 135 points, respectively.
Moran led UVA during the race, finishing sixth overall with a time of 17:31.0. Junior Kiera Bothwell (Springfield, Va.) and redshirt junior Olivia Sargent (Yardley, Pa.) finished 12th and 13th, respectively. Bothwell ran a time of 17:59.1 as Sargent closed the gap in the last 1,000m to record a time of 17:59.4.
Juniors Doria Martingayle (Virginia Beach, Va.) and Madelin Rennyson (Lynchburg, Va.) round out the team’s scoring runners. Martingayle recorded a time of 18:13.2 to place 19th, while Rennyson captured a time of 18:19.8 for 22nd place.
“It’s always exciting to compete on our home course at Panorama,” head women’s cross country coach Megan LaVoie said. “We are in a better spot than we were a year ago, but still have a lot more work to do. I thought Hannah (Moran) had a very solid race. I look forward to being back on our course in two weeks.”
Virginia will return to action on Sept. 27 as the team hosts the Virginia/Panorama Farms Invitational at Panorama Farms.