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AUGUST 2023 21 CROSS COUNTRY PREVIEW BY QUINN HULL T he 2023 cross country season has long been circled on the calendar in Charlottes- ville. Since Vin Lananna assumed the role of director of track & field and cross country at Vir- ginia in 2019, he had his sights set on hosting the 2023 NCAA Cross Country Championships at Panorama Farms — the Cavaliers' home course in Earlysville, Va. "We put that bid in the first year I arrived," Lananna said. "Everyone kind of took a leap of faith because Virginia hadn't hosted any championship final round since 1987 for the cross country championships." Lananna and his program recognize the significance of the responsibility that lies in hosting such an event and are committed to making it something special. "When I arrived at Virginia, one of the big goals I had was to host something really im- pactful and something the community can be involved with. … This will be well over 45 NCAA Division I championships I've been part of, and I would say that I think with UVA and Panorama Farms, we have the goal of making this the very best one." In addition to putting on an event that sets the bar for the NCAA Championships, Lananna's goal as program director is to put the UVA men and women in a position to contend on their home course. The UVA men and women had not qualified for the NCAA Championships in the same sea- son since 2015, but that changed last year. Af- ter enduring the challenging effects that came with the COVID-19 pandemic in the early days of Lananna's tenure, both squads were back in the mix among the nation's best. The Virginia women followed up a third- place finish at the ACC Championships with a ninth-place finish at the NCAA Champion- ships, their first time cracking the top-10 since 2013. The men placed 22nd after reaching the final round for the first time since 2019. The Cavaliers' return to form in 2022 inspires plenty of reasons for optimism for 2023. Perhaps chief among those is the presence of Margot Appleton, who returns for her third-year season after a breakout campaign in both cross country and on the track. Appleton routinely led her team at the finish line in cross country, including an im- pressive performance at the ACC Champion- ships at Panorama Farms. She was the first to the finish for UVA, running a personal- best 19:57.9 in the 6,000-meter race to finish ninth individually. Her success didn't end with cross coun- try. Appleton went on to earn All-America honors by placing fourth in the mile at the NCAA Indoor Championships and third in the 1,500 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. "Margot has set the bar high in both cross country and track," Lananna said. Another budding star for the Cavalier women is third-year Sophie Atkinson. Fol- lowing a 2021-22 season in which she was sidelined due to injury, Atkinson impressed in 2022-23. She was the second Cavalier to cross the finish line at the NCAA Champion- ships at 46th overall with a time of 20:15.9, just behind current third-year Mia Barnett (44th, 20:15.3). On the men's side, Virginia returns the core of a solid unit from a season ago. Justin Wachtel was a force for the Cavaliers during his first-year season. He was Vir- ginia's top finisher at both the ACC Champi- onships (13th, 23:19.9 in the 8,000-meter race) and NCAA Southeast Regional (third, 29:47.7 in the 10,000-meter run). Alongside Wachtel is a stable of impres- sive distance runners, with seven current runners boasting mile times that come in at less than four minutes. A strong core of upperclassmen will provide the team with excellent leadership with Wes Porter, Yasin Sado and Jack Eliason all embarking on their fourth-year seasons. Third-year Margot Appleton (left) and second-year Justin Wachtel (right) led the way for the UVA women and men during last year's ACC Championships on the Cavaliers' home course at Panorama Farms, finishing ninth and 13th, respectively. (Photos courtesy UVA) 2023 SCHEDULE Date Opponent Site Sept. 2 Spider Alumni Open Richmond, Va. Sept. 15 Virginia Tech Alumni Invite Blacksburg, Va. Sept. 23 Virginia Invitational Panorama Farms Oct. 14 XC-23 Pre-Nationals Panorama Farms Oct. 27 ACC Championships Tallahassee, Fla. Nov. 10 NCAA Southeast Regionals Spartanburg, S.C. Nov. 18 NCAA Championships Panorama Farms Hoos Aim To Contend For NCAA Championship On Their Home Course