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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Junior Thomas Curtin raced his way to a fourth place finish in the men’s 10K race at the 2013 NCAA Cross Country Southeast Regional en route to an automatic qualifying spot for the 2013 Division I Championships leading the men’s team to a fifth place finish, while the women also finished fifth at the meet.

In the meet, the two highest scoring teams and the four highest placing individuals received automatic bids to the NCAA Division I Championships.

Curtin led the way for the men with a time of 28:46.70 just nine seconds behind the meet’s top finisher. Next for Tech was senior Leoule Degfae who finished in 25th place overall with a time of 29:49.90 while fellow senior Grant Pollock finished just behind in 28th place with a time of 29:55.40.

Junior Jared Berman was the next Hokie to cross the finish line in 39th place. Freshman Vincent Ciattei and sophomore Ryan Kuhns rounded out Tech’s scoring with a 75th and 119th place finishes respectively.

In the women’s 6K race, junior Sarah Rapp was the top finisher for the Hokies with a time of 20:34.40 good enough for an eighth place finish. Junior Courtney Dobbs was not far behind with a time of 20:49.70 good for a 13th place finish overall.

Freshman Shannon Morton finished in 39th place overall while junior Madison Nuckols finished in 41st place.

Sophomore Katherine Sheridan, junior Paige Kvartunas and freshman Abigail Motley rounded out the Hokie scoring with 56th, 66th, and 153rd place finishes respectively.

Curtin automatically qualified for the 2013 Division I Championships held in Terre Haute, Ind. on Nov. 23 while the teams will be waiting to see if they qualify for an at-large bid to be announced on Saturday, Nov. 16.

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