Cross Country Kicks Off Friday

EARLYSVILLE, Va. – Like many things these days, the 2020 North Carolina cross country season will be a bit unusual. It will begin later and include fewer races, but the crucial thing is this: it will start on Friday.

"It's going to look different, but we get to do it," said Chris Miltenberg, UNC's Director of Track & Field and Cross Country. "That's the most important thing. Our mindset is we'll compete anywhere, any time. We're excited to have the opportunity."

The Tar Heels will race Friday evening at the Virginia Invite, hosted by the University of Virginia at Panorama Farms in Earlysville, Va. The women's 5K race starts at 5:15 p.m. with the men's 8K following at 6.

In addition to the Cavaliers, the event includes Wake Forest. This year's regular season consists of three tri-meets against Atlantic Coast Conference teams from North Carolina and Virginia, with the Tar Heels' next race set for Oct. 7 in Cary, N.C.

Friday's race is not open to spectators, but fans can click here for live results or follow on Twitter @UNCTrack_Field.

This year's meets will be small compared with past events, with a total of 33 women and 38 men scheduled to compete Friday. "It's a big change, but in the best possible way," Miltenberg said. "It brings us back to head-to-head competition. It's a different landscape, but we're excited."

Racing for the Tar Heels on the women's side will be Mady Clahane, Emmeline Fisher, Kelsey Harrington, Paige Hofstad, Sasha Neglia, Taryn Parks, Camryn Petit and Sarah Trainor. On the men's side, the lineup is Patrick Anderson, Will Coogan, Ryan Combs, Max DiMuccio, Jesse Hunt, Jake McEneaney, Ian Moini, Dolan Owens, Thomas Ratcliffe, Michael Spragley, John Tatter and Marshall Williamson.

Seven freshmen – Anderson, Coogan, DiMuccio, Harrington, Neglia, Parks and Trainor – as well as Owens, a sophomore, and Ratcliffe, a grad transfer, will make their Tar Heel debuts. Miltenberg is looking forward to watching them in action as a productive, if unusual, offseason comes to an end.

"We made enormous progress in the spring, took a tremendous step," he said. "We've got a lot of young people and I'm really fired up to see how we're going to compete. We'll know a lot more about everyone after we race."

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Patrick Anderson

Mady Clahane

Will Coogan

Max DiMuccio

Emmeline Fisher

Kelsey Harrington

Paige Hofstad

Jesse Hunt

Sasha Neglia

Dolan Owens

Taryn Parks

Camryn Petit

Thomas Ratcliffe

Michael Spragley

John Tatter

Sarah Trainor

Marshall Williamson

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University of North Carolina Athletics