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Inside Hokie Sports
Daniel Jaskowak and Brent Musselman headline the squad after
earning All-Southeast Region honors a year ago. Jaskowak, who
earned All-ACC honors as well, finished in the top 25 at every meet,
and Musselman surprised everyone when he was the Hokies’ top
finisher at the NCAA Southeast Regional, coming in 19th.
Seufer, Gourley and Joseph all return this fall, and Thomas
expects all three to be among his top seven. Vincent Ciattei and
Diego Zarate return as well, and both Jack Joyce and Fitsum
Seyoum figure to be challenging all of those guys.
A key, though, is keeping Seufer healthy, as he figures to be the
Hokies’ frontrunner. The redshirt sophomore won the 10,000 at
the ACC Outdoor Championships during the outdoor track season
and thrives at longer distances. Most of the roster excels at middle
distances, so Thomas needs a guy like Seufer near the front to lead
the way. He expects big things from him this fall.
“Those guys have to be cross country runners in the fall and have
that mindset of being willing to go out there and hang with Peter
because I feel confident Peter will be at the front of the ACC, as long
as he’s healthy,” Thomas said. “If he can drag a few of those guys
with him, that’s the only chance we have to win an ACC title and get
to nationals.”
Jaskowak, Musselman, Gourley and Joseph are all seniors,
giving the Hokies plenty of experience. If five Hokies earn all-
region honors, then they probably make Thomas prophetic and
earn another NCAA Championships appearance —which would be
their third since 2012.
First, though, comes the ACC Championships and competing for
an ACC title.
“We have some really good teams in our league, of course, but if
Peter Seufer continues to develop … if we can get some frontrunners
around that guy, then yeah, an ACC championship is a possibility,”
Thomas said.
On the women’s side, the Hokies also return a lot of components
from last year’s team that finished a program-best third at the ACC
Championships. Seniors Hanna Green, Shannon Morton, Abigail
Motley and Tessa Riley all finished their careers, but Green, Morton
and Riley dealt with nagging injuries that limited them for much
of the 2016 season anyway, forcing Thomas to use a contingent of
younger runners.
Thus, four of last year’s top five runners are returning, including
lead runner Katie Kennedy, who enjoyed the best year of her career.
Kennedy, a senior, earned All-ACC and All-Southeast Region
honors and never finished worse than 21st in any race.
“She’s certainly our most capable, having been All-ACC and all-
region, and she finished strong during the track season,” Thomas
said. “She had a good summer. So far, so good. I think she wants
to lead us.”
The key for the Hokies will be finding three or four runners to
help Kennedy, ones fast enough to be within a minute of her in
any given race. Those in the mix include junior Lauren Berman,
sophomores Kayla Richardson, Sarah Edwards and Sara Freix, and
redshirt freshman Amanda Swaak.
Richardson and Edwards enjoyed fine first seasons. Richardson
won a cross country race last fall and ran consistently during the
track season, while Edwards won the ACC title in the 3,000-meter
steeplechase during the outdoor season and won a gold medal in
the same event at the Pan American Junior Championships.
“Mikayla had a solid year,” Thomas said. “She competed every season,
and she was able to stay consistent with her training. She progressed
every race, and I think she could break out and be consistent.
“Sarah Edwards knows she has to get a lot better at cross
country, and she has the potential to get better. She’s bringing
a lot of confidence after winning the ACC championship in the
steeplechase. To get better in that event, she has to compete against
the best in the ACC in cross country as well, and I think she’s
motivated to do that.”
Keeping Berman and Swaak healthy remains a key as well. They
both suffered injuries last fall, but both are finally healthy and
trained over the summer.
Thomas also expects middle distance standouts Rachel Pocratsky
and Laurie Barton to factor in on the cross country scene this
season. Both excel in the 800, but could offer depth.
“It’s like with the men’s team,” Thomas said. “We have the
potential to have a good frontrunner in Katie Kennedy, and then
we’ve got some supporting cast that, if they could be within a
minute of her, we have a chance to improve on our finish from last
year at the ACC meet and get to the nationals. That’s a big goal for
the group.”
Thomas would love to see the women’s program win its first
ACC cross country title and qualify for just its third NCAA
Championships. The Hokies are young —Kennedy is the lone
senior —but many of this group contributed to the women’s team
that won the ACC title during the outdoor track season. So they
know how to win.
“I’m excited for them,” Thomas said. “Hopefully they can carry
some of that momentum into cross country. There are several of
them that stayed here this summer and got some training in. The
opportunity is there. The ACC is always tough, but we were third
last year. We’re still a good ways away from first or second, but I
think this group would like to see that gap close.”
Hopefully, both squads repeat what they accomplished during
the outdoor season at the ACC meet —winning conference titles.
For sure, that’s an encore Hokie Nation would love to see.
CROSS COUNTRY
Continued from page 43
BRENT
MUSSELMAN