UVA Runners Place First in Both Men’s and Women’s Races at the Virginia Invitational

Mia Barnett and Rohann Asfaw notched top finishes in their respective races and the UVA women’s cross country team finished first and the men’s team finished second in the Virginia Invitational on Saturday.

Photo courtesy of Virginia Athletics Communications

The Virginia Cavaliers cross country teams hosted the Virginia Invitational at Panorama Farms in Earlysville, Virginia on Friday.

Freshman Mia Barnett won the women’s 5k to lead the UVA women’s cross country team to a first-place finish, while senior Rohann Asfaw won the men’s 8k and the UVA men’s cross country team finished second.

Virginia placed five of the top seven runners in the women’s 5k, led by Barnett, who won the race with a time of 17:13.7

Junior Helena Lindsay finished just three seconds behind Barnett in second. Freshman Sophie Atkinson finished fourth, senior Gabby Karas finished sixth, and freshman Margot Appleton finished seventh.

“Mia Barnett, as a first year, winning the race is a big deal for her and our women overall had a pretty dominant performance,” said Vin Lananna, director of track and field and cross country at UVA.

Rohann Asfaw finished first in the men’s 8k, setting a new course record with a time of 24:14.7. Asfaw passed Navy’s Gregory Mathias in the final stretch to win the event.

Navy placed first as a team, though, as the Midshipmen had four of the top seven finishers in the men’s 8k. Virginia finished second with Asfaw placing first, junior Johnny Rogers finishing sixth, and sophomore Jacob Hunter finishing eighth.

“On the men’s side, you can’t be anything but excited for Rohann,” said Lananna, who signed a two-year contract extension to remain Virginia’s director of track and field and cross country through 2026. “That was a hard race. Give credit to Navy, they ran really tough.”

The Virginia cross country team will next compete at the Notre Dame Invitational on October 1st.