Monroe, Morris compete at NCAA Cross Country Championships

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Virginia had two competitors in the field for Monday’s 2021 Division I NCAA Men’s Cross Country Championships in Stillwater, Okla. Junior Peter Morris (Hamilton, Va.) finished the 10k race in 158th place with a time of 32:18.7 while senior Harry Monroe (Alexandria, Va.) was 223rd at 33:36.1.

“It was great to see so many athletes back into action this weekend,” said Vin Lananna, UVA’s director of track and field and cross country. “Hopefully we have a path forward for a wonderful outdoor season.”

This was Morris’ second NCAA Championship competition. He was 64th at the 2019 event. It marked the first time Monroe ran in the championship. Monroe earned All-ACC honors last fall following a 13th-place finish at the conference championship meet.

UVA was an at-large qualifier for this year’s meet but was not able to declare for the team championship due to COVID-19 issues within the group of runners selected to participate.

This season’s championship was pushed back to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. No NCAA regional championships were held this year to help select the field. All participants received bids based on fall and spring meet results.

Virginia will serve as the host for the NCAA Championships in 2023. That meet will take place at Panorama Farms in Earlysville, Va. UVA was the site of the 1987 NCAA Championships, which were held at the Foxfield Course in Charlottesville.