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Inside Hokie Sports
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A sliver of Virginia Tech’s Buford Meredith
Cross Country Course will be off limits this fall,
as workers continue construction on the new
interchange along Route 460 and Southgate
Drive, which butts up to the course.
A construction job of smaller proportions
is continuing within Tech’s cross country
programs, particularly on the men’s side.
Head coach Ben Thomas, the lead engineer,
so to speak, on this project, is tasked with
trying to find a replacement for Thomas
Curtin, who enjoyed arguably the best season
of any distance runner in Tech history. One
could argue that he enjoyed the best season of
any
athlete
in Tech history.
Curtin earned All-America honors in cross
country, indoor track and outdoor track last
year, but he probably ran his best during the
cross country season in the fall. He won three
races, including the ACC’s individual crown
when he sprinted past Syracuse’s Justyn
Knight in the final 100 meters.
Curtin also won the prestigious NCAA
Pre-National Meet and the NCAA Southeast
Regional. He finished 22nd at the NCAA
Championships, earning All-America honors.
“Tommy was an inspiring athlete, with the
way that he raced,” Thomas said. “It was fun
to sit back and watch as a fan. Forget being his
coach, I just enjoyed watching him as a fan.
I’m going to miss that more than anything. It
was such a rare attitude that he brought.
“I’mreally excited thatmost of our returners
had some time with him and hopefully that’s
rubbed off. I’m not saying we don’t have
other guys that are tough racers. We do, but
I’m hoping it [Curtin’s toughness] rubs off on
the cross country side a little more because
most of my guys don’t have a lot of experience
with cross country. We’ll miss his leadership
tremendously. You just don’t replace him.”
Largely because of Curtin, the Tech men’s
team received an at-large berth to the NCAA
CROSS COUNTRY
2016
SET THE PACE
CROSS COUNTRY
TEAMS
hope to
The men’s and
women’s programs
have talent and
depth and have
set their sights on
berths to the NCAA
Championships
by
Jimmy Robertson
STUART
ROBERTSON