Cross country: No. 12 UVA men finish second at ACC Championships

The No. 12 UVA men’s cross country team finished second at the ACC Championships Friday (Oct. 28) at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.

The Cavaliers finished 72 points to place second behind No. 6 Syracuse, who won with 29 points. NC State was third, while Virginia Tech (128) and Florida State (134) rounded out the top five. It is Virginia’s best finish since they also placed second in 2012.

UVA had four student-athletes earn All-ACC honors and finish in the top 13, led by redshirt sophomore Brent Demarest (Charleston, S.C.), who was seventh in 23.23.6. Freshman Lachlan Cook (Brisbane, Australia), senior Zach Herriott (Kansas City, Mo.) and junior Chase Weaverling (Darnestown, Md.) finished 11th, 12th and 13th respectively. Redshirt freshman Matthew Novak (Glen Allen, Va.) placed 29th to round out the scoring five.

“Our top four did a fantastic job and Matt Novak did an excellent job as our fifth guy running up front and hanging on,” UVA men’s cross country coach Pete Watson said. “To finish second at the ACC Championships and running as well as we could is a good day.”

Cook was named ACC Freshman of the Year for being the top true freshman finisher in the field.

“Lachlan continues to adjust and step up for us in his first year,” Watson said.

The meet signified the men’s and women’s cross country matchups between Virginia and Virginia Tech in the Commonwealth Clash, sponsored by Virginia529, the official college savings plan of University of Virginia athletics. Each school picked up one point based on today’s results. The score of the Clash is currently University of Virginia – 2.5 and Virginia Tech – 2. Learn more about Virginia529 and this competition at TheCommonwealthClash.com.

The Cavaliers will return to action in two weeks when they host the NCAA Southeast Regional Championships Nov. 11 at Panorama Farms in Earlysville.