Virginia Men, Florida State Women Claim Titles at ACC Cross Country Championship
NC State's Chris Kollar and Seminoles' Susan Kuijken take first in individual events.



Oct. 27, 2007

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The Virginia men and Florida State women won the team crowns today at the Atlantic Coast Conference Cross Country Championship at Panorama Farms in Charlottesville, Va. Wolfpack senior Chris Kollar finished in first place on the men's side, while Florida State sophomore Susan Kuijken took top honors in the women's race.

Chris Kollar
NC State's
Chris Kollar
Under the direction of head coach Jason Dunn, the Cavaliers claimed their third-ever ACC title and first since 2005 with a team score of 32. NC State finished in second-place, just seven points back from the Cavs, with an overall score of 39. Finishing in third-place was Florida State with 130 points, followed by Clemson with 137 points. In fifth-, sixth-, and seventh-places, respectively, were Virginia Tech (139), Duke (156) and Wake Forest (193). Rounding out the rest of the field in eighth- thought 12th-places were Boston College (195), Maryland (206), North Carolina (246), Georgia Tech (271) and Miami (381).

On the women's side, the Seminoles, headed by coach Bob Bramen, won their first-ever team title, finishing with 64 points. NC State, last year's winner, came in second with 102 points and Boston College finished third with 106 points. North Carolina and Virginia Tech finished fourth and fifth, respectively, recording team scores of 118 and 121. In sixth through 12th were Duke (123), Wake Forest (127), Virginia (160), Maryland (236), Clemson (257), Georgia Tech (277) and Miami (390).

Getting started at 10 a.m., the men opened competition with an 8K race that was hotly contested throughout. After jumping to the front of the pack around the 5K mark, NC State's Kollar widened his lead to the finish, crossing the line with a time of 24:02.1. Virginia's Andy Biladeau finished in second-place, just six seconds behind, followed by teammates Ryan Foster and Emil Heineking. In all, four Cavalier runners and six NC State runners would finish in the top 14, earning ACC All-Conference honors for the 2007 season. As the race's top freshman finisher, Virginia's Heineking was named the league's Freshman of the Year.

Susan Kuijken
Florida State's
Susan Kuijken
In the women's 6K, the Seminoles' Kuijken was among the leaders throughout the race's early stages before leaving the pack behind near the halfway point. Crossing the finish line with a time of 20:23.5, Kuijken became the first Seminole in school history to take the league's individual cross country title. Virginia senior Emily Harrison came in second with a time of 20:36.6, just ahead of North Carolina's Brianna Felnagle, who finished in 20:52.5. Joining those three on the All-Conference team would bea trio of Hokies, two runners  each from NC State, Boston College and Duke and one more from each Florida State, North Carolina and Virginia. Claiming the women's Freshman of the Year honor was NC State's Colleen Wetherbee, who finished in 19th-place.