Virginia’s 2021 cross country schedule features two home meets

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Virginia director of cross country and track and field Vin Lananna announced the Cavaliers’ 2021 men’s and women’s cross country schedules this week.

UVA’s slate features four regular-season competitions, the ACC Championships and the NCAA Southeast Regional in addition to the NCAA Championship meet.

UVA opens its schedule on Saturday, Sept. 4 in Richmond at UR’s Spider Alumni Open. The Cavaliers then host the Virginia Invitational at scenic Panorama Farms on Friday, Sept. 17. Virginia hits the road for the Notre Dame “Joe Piane” Invitational on Oct. 1. The meet is named for the former legendary Irish track and field and cross country head coach.

On Oct. 15, Virginia will host the XC 23 Invitational at Panorama Farms. XC 23 stands for the 2023 NCAA Championships that UVA will host at Panorama Farms.

The  Cavaliers return to Notre Dame on Friday, Oct. 29 for the ACC Championships. Two weeks later (Nov. 12) the team will participate in the NCAA Southeast Regional meet hosted by the Univ. of Kentucky.

The NCAA Championships will be held at Florida State on Saturday, Nov. 20.

“After all of the challenges our cross country team faced last year due to the protocols and restrictions from the pandemic, we are excited to be back competing in our traditional fall season,” Lananna said. “We had a fantastic track season in the spring and we’ll look to keep that momentum going this fall. We’d really like to see our community come out for the home meets. Hosting NCAAs in 2023 is going to be a great experience and our UVA fans and area running enthusiasts can get a feel for it starting this fall.”

2021 Virginia Cross Country Schedule

• Sept. 4 – at Spider Alumni Open (Richmond, Va.)
• Sept. 17 – Virginia Invitational (Panorama Farms – Earlysville, Va.)
• Oct. 1 – Notre Dame “Joe Piane” Invitational (Notre Dame, Ind.)
• Oct. 15 – XC23 Invitational (Panorama Farms – Earlysville, Va.)
• Oct. 29 – ACC Championships (Notre Dame, Ind.)
• Nov. 12 – NCAA Southeast Regional (Lexington, Ky.)
• Nov. 20 – NCAA Championships (Tallahassee, Fla.)