November 8, 2003

Charlottesville, Va. - Limited members of Virginia Tech's men's and women's cross country teams competed in the Cavalier open, hosted today by the University of Virginia. The unscored meet saw teams such as Virginia, Duke, Georgetown and William and Mary get in a final week of competition before the NCAA Regional Championships.

On the women's side, freshman Jenn Dietz was the top finisher for the Hokies as she finished the six-kilometer course at Panorama Farms in 24:29.50, finishing 22^nd. Classmate Cate Jackson was 23^rd with a time of 24:42.70, while Kelly Dick came in 26^th (24:59.50). Jessica Hammack took 28^th place in 25:05.50. Tech assistant coach Mary Jayne Harrelson, competing unattached, won the race with a time of 21:23.00.

For the men, freshman Brian Markley had Tech's top finish with a 32^nd place performance, finishing the eight-kilometer course in 28:25.90. Alex Johnson finished next in 34^th place with a time of 31:31.80, followed closely by Antoine Harris in 35^th with a mark of 31:32.30.

Many of Tech's athletes took the weekend off in preparation for next weekend's NCAA Regional Championships, giving many of the Hokies' younger runners a chance to gain more race experience. The entire team, coached by Ben Thomas, will return to action on Nov. 15 at the regional meet in Greenville, N.C. The women's team, which received four points in the latest FinishLynx National Poll, will be looking for their first ever trip to the NCAA Championships.