26 / 48
JR.
SPRINGFIELD, VIRGINIA
KATIE
KENNEDY
W O M E N ’ S
C R O S S
C O U N T R Y
T
he Virginia Tech women’s cross country team went into this past fall with
several upperclassmen who were expected to be the leaders, but injuries
hampered their ability to be consistent. Seizing an opportunity, Katie Kennedy
ultimately emerged as the Hokies’ top runner and enjoyed the best season of
her career.
Kennedy never finished worse than 23rd in any of the six races that she
competed in over the course of the fall. She came in second in the first two
meets of the season—the Hokie Invite and the Virginia Tech Alumni Invite—that
arguably served as a precursor of things to come. Against strong competition
at the Greater Louisville Classic and the Penn State National, she finished 10th
and 23rd, respectively.
However, her top performance came at the ACC Championships held in Cary,
North Carolina. She ran the 6K course in a career-best time of 20 minutes, 22.3
seconds, finishing 11th to earn All-ACC honors for the first time in her career.
Behind her performance, the Hokies wound up third in the team race— the top
finish at the ACC meet in program history.
Kennedy closed the season by coming in 21st with a time of 21:05.1 at the
NCAASoutheast Regional held at hilly Panorama Farms outside of Charlottesville.
In addition, she earned All-Southeast Region honors for the first time.
Kennedy returns for her senior season this fall and will be expected to be the
leader of a young, talented squad yet again.
24
Inside Hokie Sports