Asfaw leads UVA at Joe Piane / Notre Dame Invitational

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Taking advantage of the opportunity to race at the site of the 2021 ACC Championships, the Virginia men’s and women’s cross country teams competed Friday at the Joe Piane / Notre Dame Invitational at the Fighting Irish Burke Golf Course.

The Cavalier men placed 21st while the UVA women were 22nd.

Junior Rohann Asfaw was the Cavaliers’ top finisher in the Men’s Blue 5-Mile competition, placing 16th with a time of 23:55.8 while freshman Colin Peattie was the team’s second-best finisher in 82nd place at 24:50.7.

Furman took first place as a team with 129 points while Florida State’s Adriaan Wildschutt led the field with a winning time of 23:06.7.

Junior Helena Lindsay led the Virginia women in the Women’s Blue 5k race. She was 67th at 17:14.2 while first-year Margot Appleton was 80th at 17:19.0.

NC State took first place in the women’s race with a score of 38 points while Alabama’s Mercy Chelangat, the reigning NCAA individual champion, won the event with a time of 16:10.3

Freshman Jacob Hunter had the best overall finish for UVA during the day’s six races. He was the runner-up in the Men’s Open 5-Mile at 24:58.0 while Kevin Carlson was 17th at 25:36.3.

This year’s Invitational included a field of 56 teams with 40 of those teams being featured in this week’s USTFCCCA National Rankings. The Notre Dame course will be the site of the ACC Championships on Oct. 29.

The Hoos are back at home on Oct. 15 when they host the XC23 Invitational at Panorama Farms in Earlysville, Va.