Complete ACC XC RESULTS

Women:

We knew it was going to be a crazy weekend, and the UNC women got it off to a fast start on Friday morning. Running against #9 N.C. State, #11 Florida State, #13 Virginia, the #14 Tarheels upset the field led by Annie Lehardy in fourth place. The rest of UNC’s top 5 was in the top 20, with Lianne Farber in 7th, Karley Rempel in 11th, Caroline Alcorta in 17th, and Lizzy Whelan in 18th. 

The individual champion was Liv Westphal of Boston College. Westphal (#5 Saucony Flo50) broke the race open after 3k and and would not be threatened by 2nd place finisher Colleen Quigley (FSU) again. The BC senior hit the line in 19:43, 14 seconds clear of Quigley. Margo Malone of Syracuse was 3rd in 20:01.6. 

Westphal has gone under the radar thus far in 2014. In a women’s individual race that should be wide open at NCAA’s, Westphal cannot be ruled out as a possible contender after another promising performance today in Virginia. In a season that has already seen her beat Michigan’s Erin Finn by 20 seconds, and place 4th in the highly competitive Wisconsin Invite, Westphal is still gaining momentum with three weeks until the NCAA Championships. 

Men:

The men’s race was being touted as a Syracuse showcase in Virgina, and the Orange did not disappoint on Friday. Led by junior Martin Hehir’s individual victory, ‘Cuse won in commanding fashion, scoring 32 points and beating second place team NC State (90 pts) by 58 points. The victory is the 2nd straight ACC title for the #5 Orange.

Hehir broke open the race just before 5k, and ran stride for stride with teammate Max Straneva for a mile before running a hard final 1k all alone. Hehir broke the tape in 23:15 for the 8k course, followed in 2nd by Ernet Kibet of Louisville, who would overtake Straneva over the final meters. Kibet finished in 23:21, with Straneva in 23:23. 

This performance further validates Syracuse’s potential to land on the podium in Terre Haute. With the Colorado men looking untouchable thus far this season, the team battle may not be in question, but ‘Cuse has certainly put their hat in the ring for 2nd place. We called them a dark horse at the beginning of the season, and with the improvements of Hehir and Straneva, as well as the addition of freshman Justyn Knight (8th today), the Orange have out-performed even our expectations. The PAC-12 will get all the attention this weekend, but undoubtably ‘Cuse turned some heads today in Charlottesville.