Cavalier Corner is the publication just for UVa sports fans!
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1512280
DECEMBER 2023 9 cavalier sports When director of track & field and cross country Vin Lananna arrived at UVA in 2019, he brought with him an impressive résumé coaching some of the nation's top teams and individuals. What also arrived with Lananna was the ambition to bring a major event in the running world to Charlottesville, Va. Just more than a year into Lananna's ten- ure, the NCAA announced that Virginia would host the 2023 NCAA Cross Country Champi- onships, marking the first time it would do that in more than three decades. The cross country program saw plenty of change since the last championship meet in Charlottesville at the Foxfield Course in 1987, including a relocation of its home course to Panorama Farms. "When I first arrived here, we looked around at this course and thought it might be a great place to host the national cham- pionships," Lananna said. "We put all the things together that we thought would be challenges and Steve Murray, who owns the course, said, 'We've got this.'" Both UVA teams qualified for the champion- ships via at-large bids and got to compete for an NCAA title on their home course, creating excitement on Grounds. "I've been doing this a long time," Lananna said. "And I'm not sure I've seen a more pre- pared community than what I see here today." The sold-out crowd of nearly 5,000 sprawled across rolling hills at Panorama Farms provided an exceptional backdrop to the two races. UVA had plenty to cheer for in Jenny Schilling, who became Virginia's first All-American since 2014. The third-year walk- on led her team to the finish line placing 39th overall to help secure a 15th-place fin- ish. The men posted a 22nd-place showing. "It has felt very surreal this whole week with it finally being here" Schilling said. "Even on the line with five minutes to go it was crazy to think we were about to do this. We were all really excited." In Lananna's eyes, the event was a major success. "I think that there were probably 800 or 900 people who came up to me personally to tell me how great the course was, and how great the experience was," he said. "Today demonstrated, to all who watched it, that it was a great event." — Quinn Hull behind the scenes Hosting The NCAA Cross Country Championships Third-year Jenny Schilling became Virginia's first All-American since 2013 with a 39th-place finish in the NCAA Champion- ships. (Photo courtesy UVA)