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BLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech men’s and women’s cross country teams return to action on Friday when both squads compete in the Penn State National Open held in University Park, Pennsylvania.

The meet will be held at the Blue -White Golf Courses in University Park. The women’s 6K race starts at 11:30 a.m., with the men’s race starting at 12:15 p.m.

The Tech men have won each of their first three races to start this season, while the women have won two of three races. Both teams will be looking to continue the string of strong performances.

RANKED FOES

The Penn State National Open, which serves as the Hokies’ final tune-up before the ACC Championships on Oct. 28, figures to be Tech’s toughest competition to date. The men’s field consists four ranked teams in the latest United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll, including No. 9 Oklahoma State, No. 10 Ole Miss, No. 19 Virginia and the No. 28 Hokies. Also, both Texas and Villanova are receiving votes.

The women’s side consists of four ranked teams as well, including No. 8 Penn State, No. 14 Oklahoma State, No. 25 Ole Miss and No. 30 West Virginia. Plus, Cornell and William & Mary are receiving votes.

POLLING DATA

In addition to being ranked No. 28 nationally, the Virginia Tech men’s team is ranked third in the Southeast Region by the USTFCCCA behind Eastern Kentucky and Virginia. The Tech women are ranked sixth in the region behind NC State, Virginia, William and Mary, Kentucky and Eastern Kentucky.

LAST TIME OUT

Andrew Gaiser’s seventh-place finish enabled the Tech men to finish as the top Division I team at the Greater Louisville Classic held in Louisville, Kentucky on Oct. 1. Gaiser ran the 8K course in a time of 24 minutes, 17.69 seconds, and Peter Seufer came in ninth among Division I runners with a time of 24:23.90. Six Tech runners finished in the top 20.

The Tech women finished fourth among 26 Division I teams. Katie Kennedy led the Hokies with a 10th-place finish, running the 5K course in a time of 17:15.00. She has finished in the top 10 in all three of the Hokies’ meets this season.

Hanna Green came in 25th with a time of 17:35.10, and Abigail Motley came in 30th for the women’s team, which includes three freshmen who scored points (Laurie Barton, Sarah Edwards and Sara Freix).

CAREER BESTS

Kennedy, Green, Motley and Shannon Morton all set career-best 5K times at the Greater Louisville Classic. Motley ran the course in a time of 17:37.40, while Morton, who came in 55th, ran it in 17:56.90.

In addition to Gaiser, the men’s team saw several of its runners finish the 8K course in Louisville in career-best times. That contingent includes Vincent Ciattei, Jack Joyce, Baron Kieffer, Daniel Rau and Diego Zarate. Gaiser, Zarate, Joyce, Ciattei and Rau all scored for the Hokies in the meet.

LOOKING AHEAD

Virginia Tech’s teams will take a week off before resuming action at the ACC Championships being held this year at Wake Med Park in Cary, North Carolina. A year ago, the Tech men came in fourth in the team competition, while the women were eighth. The Hokies’ Tommy Curtin, who graduated in May, won the ACC title on the men’s side – the second ACC individual crown won by a Tech runner (Will Mulherin, 2012).

For updates on Virginia Tech cross country, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_Track