Collegiate Times

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Virginia Tech’s cross-country teams enter this weekend’s Atlantic Coast Conference Championships fostering confidence and momentum.

The team is looking to build on their impressive performance on Oct. 17 where they finished fourth out of 30 teams at the Chili Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Ark.

The Festival is considered one of the top collegiate cross-country meets in the nation, and if its high finish there says anything, it’s that it is ready to compete when they hit the ground this weekend.

“This meet was the first test of the season for Devin (Cornwall) and Paul (LaPenna), two of our top guys,” said head coach Ben Thomas.

Cornwall and LaPenna, both seniors, will be key factors to a successful appearance at the ACC Championships.

Cornwall is coming off a 15th-place finish out of 243 runners at the Chili Pepper Festival and placed third individually at the ACC Championships last year.

Earlier this season, LaPenna won the Dual in the Elk in Banner Elk, N.C., recording a 6K time of 20:26.

The team will also count on a solid race by sophomore Will Mulherin. Mulherin finished 16th at the Chili Pepper Festival, less than a second back from his teammate Cornwall.

“For us to get top three, Will and Devin are gonna have to be top five,” Thomas said.

Coach Thomas would be content with a top-three finish in the conference. However, Mulherin has other things in mind.

“We want to win the (ACC) Championships,” Mulherin said. “I always just look at it as you’re as good as your last race. Anybody can be the best runner any race.”

After the ACC Championships, the team has its sights on a top-three finish at the NCAA Regionals.

Two solid performances in their two upcoming meets should be enough for a berth at the national championships — the team’s ultimate goal.

“This is the best team I have been on in my whole life,” Cornwall said. “(We want) nothing else other than nationals.”

The women’s team is also showing promise. While they are much younger and less experienced than the men, the women have shown potential during their season thus far.

On Oct. 16, the team finished second out of 15 teams at the Blue Ridge Open in Boone, N.C.

Junior Jessica Trapeni and sophomore Sammy Dow led the way for the women, placing 14th and 18th respectively, out of 133 runners. Dow ran the 5K at the Blue Ridge Open in 18:33, a personal best for the young star.

While looking ahead to the ACC Championships, Thomas said the expectations aren’t as high for the women, but he expects the team to prove that its young age doesn’t define its talent.

“I’ll be thrilled if we’re in the top half. It’s such a young group and it’s such a competitive league on the women’s side,” Thomas said.

Finishing in the top half of the conference entails placing in the top six at the championships.

In order for the women’s team to do so this weekend, Trapeni and Dow will have to come up big. Last year, Trapeni placed 74th in the conference while Dow placed 59th.

Both of them, however, have made great strides over the past year because of a combination of their skill level and work ethic, according to coach Thomas.

“I’ve gotten better throughout the season, so hopefully that’ll continue into next week,” Dow said.

Thomas wants Dow to place in the top 30 runners.

“That’d be a really good finish for her,” Thomas said. “I know Trapeni can be there too.”

Thomas is confident in both his men and women’s teams heading into the weekend.

Other players that Thomas noted could have successful weekends included sophomores Brian Welch, Michael Hammond and junior Matt Kroetch on the men’s side and junior Lindsey King and sophomore Lauren Pinkston on the women’s side.

“They’re a great group to coach,” he said. “They’re doing everything they can to put themselves into a position to do well. That’s really all you can ask for as a coach.”