Hokies prepare for NCAA National Championships

November 16, 2012

Men's 10k begins at 1:15 p.m.

Meet Notes

NCAA National Championships
November 17, 2012
Men’s 10K Race: 1:15 p.m.
E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park • Louisville, Ky.
Live Stream: http://bit.ly/UJilRJ

PREVIEWING THE MEET
The Virginia Tech men’s cross country team heads to Louisville, Ky., for the NCAA National Championships at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park on Nov. 17. The men’s 10k is slated to start at 1:15 p.m. This is the first time in NCAA history that the Division I cross country championships will take place in the state of Kentucky.
The competition is comprised of thirty-one teams. The top two, seven-person teams automatically qualified from each of the nine regions for a total of 18 teams. An additional 13 teams were selected at-large.
Thirty-eight individuals were selected to participate in each championship through an automatic qualifier and at-large selection process. All individual qualifiers finished in the top 25 in their region.
After finishing in fourth at the Southeast Regional on Nov. 10, the Hokies qualified for the championship by earning one of the 13 at-large bids. The Southeast Region was one of two regions to have three teams earn at-large bids. The ACC led all conferences with five teams earning bids to the championship race.
By earning its bid to nationals, this marks first time that Tech has reached the finals since 1987. This is the second consecutive year that redshirt senior Will Mulherin will compete in the season’s final race.

LONG AWAITED RETURN

• It has been 25 years since the Hokie men last reached the NCAA National Championships when the team finished a program-best fourth place while being led by All-Americans Steve Taylor and Tony Williams.

MULHERIN’S RETURN

• Redshirt senior Will Mulherin will be looking to become the only two-time All American men’s runner in program history.

SEEING DOUBLE

• Redshirt seniors Michael Hammond and Will Mulherin earned their second consecutive All-Region honors at the Southeast Regional meet on Nov. 9 in Charlottle, N.C. They became the fourth and fifth men in the program’s history to earn the honor twice in their career.

ACC CHAMPS

• On Oct. 27, the Hokie men captured the program’s first ACC title, and first conference championship since 1997.

• The team was led by Will Mulherin’s first-place finish. It was Tech’s first ACC individual crown and first individual conference champion since 1999.• It was Mulherin’s first win of the season, while it was the Tech’s second team victory of the season.

• Mulherin, Brayden Burleigh and Thomas Curtin earned All-ACC honors. Burleigh finished sixth while Curtin was right behind him in seventh.

• Rounding out Tech’s top five were Michael Hammond in 19th and Leoule Degfae in 22nd.

• The Hokies finished the race with 55 points, six points clear of Virginia.

HOKIES TAKE SIXTH AT PRE-NATS

• In the most competitive field that Tech had seen this season, the Hokie men came away with a sixth place finish great results from Will Mulherin (6th) and Leoule Degfae (19th). Tech topped No. Tulsa as well as several other highly-acclaimed squads en route to the finish at E.P. Tom Sawyer National Park in Louisville, Ky.

• The impressive showing moved the Hokies into the national picture. After previously being unranked, Tech jumped to No. 21 in the national rankings the following week.

HOKIE MEN CLAIM CHARLOTTE INVITATIONAL

• In only their second scored meet of the season, the Hokies earned their first team win of the season at the Charlotte Invitational. The top five runners for the Hokies all finished in the top 11, Will Mulherin and Leoule Degafe finishing second and third. Finishing in eighth, 10th and 11th were Michael Hammond, Ryan Hagen and Kevin Dowd.

TECH IN THE RANKINGS

• In the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association’s (USTFCCCA) NCAA National Cross Country rankings, the Hokie men are currently ranked No. 26.

• Tech’s highest ranking of the season has been 17th. It was the highest ranking for the team in the more than a decade.

For updates on Virginia Tech cross country, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_Track).