Cross County: Rohann Asfaw leads UVA to victory at Wolfpack Invite

Rohann Asfaw captured the top time in the men’s race as he led the Virginia men’s cross country team to a first-place finish on Wednesday at the Wolfpack Invite at the WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.

Asfaw was the men’s individual winner for the second consecutive meet. The senior completed the 8k course in 23:32.5, improving his time of 24:03.1 from the Virginia Invite, to win the event by two-and-a-half seconds.

Freshman Wes Porter was the next Virginia runner to cross the finish line, running a time of 24:01.4 to finish fifth, while sophomore Bryson Crites placed sixth with a time of 24:02.1 and grad student Randy Neish placed seventh with a time of 24:02.2.

Junior Derek Johnson rounded out UVA’s scoring runners, finishing the course in a time of 24:04.2 for ninth place.

“Great job for Rohann,” director of track & field and cross country/associate athletics director of administration Vin Lananna said. “The team packed up quite well. NC State has a formidable team with a Hall of Fame coach at the helm. We are getting better each week.

The women’s team place third in standings as senior Kiera Bothwell paced the Cavaliers with a fifth-place finish.

NC State won the women’s 5k with a score of 24 points. North Carolina scored 49 points for second place, while UVA scored 59 points for third.

Bothwell and senior Hannah Moran recorded back-to-back finishes in the women’s 5k race to pace the Cavaliers. Bothwell ran a time of 17:38.0 to place fifth, while Moran’s time of 17:39.9 placed her sixth.

Senior Gabriella Karas finished 15th at the meet with a time of 17:59.0, while graduate student Michaela Meyer placed 16th with a time of 18:07.2 and redshirt senior Olivia Sargent placed 17th with a time of 18:15.1.

“Glad to measure the progress that our women’s team has made since its return to Grounds. It was a strong effort for the Virginia team against two very good rivals,” Lananna said.

The Cavaliers will return home on Oct. 16 to close out the regular season with the Virginia/Panorama Farms Invitational.