North Carolina opened its cross country season with a clean sweep at the Virginia Invitational on Friday morning in Charlottesville, Va., as both the men’s and women’s teams finished first at Panorama Farm.
The men set the tone in the 6k, packing the front of the race and piling up 21 points for the team title. Joe Barrett led the Tar Heels with a second-place finish in 17:39.0, followed closely by Noah Breker in third at 17:48.7. Jacob Laney was right behind in fourth at 17:49.9, Caden Leonard took fifth in 17:51.5, Brian Burns finished seventh in 17:56.5 and Robert Mechura came in eighth at 17:58.2.
Tommy Latham added a 14th-place finish in 18:14.9, Luke Pash was 16th in 18:17.9, Jack Bowen placed 23rd in 18:29.0 and Joe Sapone finished 29th in 18:40.8.
Barrett’s run stood out beyond the result. He cut nearly 15 seconds off his previous 6k mark, which had been 17:58.0 at last season’s adidas XC Challenge.
The women followed with an equally strong showing in the 5k, finishing with 27 points and another first-place team result. Ciara O'Shea won the race in 16:46.0, turning in a personal best to give Carolina the individual victory.
North Carolina put four more runners inside the top ten. Kinley Wolfe finished fourth in 17:00.6, Libby Catelli was fifth in 17:04.0, Logan St.
John Kletter placed eighth in 17:13.0 and Pia Beaulieu took ninth in 17:13.9. Wolfe also notched a personal best, trimming 51 seconds off her previous PR.
Just outside the top ten, Maddie Gardiner ran 17:20.6 for 12th place and a personal best of her own. Hannah Rae Shaffer finished 18th in 17:41.2, Camryn Wennersten was 21st in 17:49.6, Katelyn Rupe placed 24th in 17:56.8, Alli Delisi finished 27th in 18:03.3 and Grace Hanson came in 30th in 18:08.5.
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