CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. –– Once again, Anna Villavicencio and Noah Smith lead the women's and men's American University cross country teams to top-10 finishes to close out the regular season at University of Virginia's Panorama Farm Invitational on Friday. 
 
The men came in seventh while the women placed ninth in their final regular season races.
 
Smith, who came 21st overall, led for the third race in a row, and in his career, running a 25:10.5 across 8000 meters. Emmett Engelhart (25:34.9) and Marcus Valenzuela (25:35.8) worked closely together to finish 39th and 40th to round out the top three. Zack Zerbe (26:07.6) moved up from the sixth spot last race to place fourth for the team and 64th overall. Rounding out the top was junior Jaden Frederick (26:36.5) placing 82nd overall. 
 
"It was a solid day on a tough course with a lot of rolling hills," said Smith, a junior. "I was working with Emmet and Marcus through 3k, and we had a good pack there. I think we managed the race well for not competing since Penn state and it was a good challenge to tune up for Patriot Leagues".
 
Villavicencio continues to lead the Eagles once again with a 22:10.4 placing 30th over 6000 meters.  Shealyn Brochu (22:46.2) and Zoe Rector (23:25.0) came second and third to round out the top three.  Senior Estella Miller (23:56.7) stepped up big from eighth last race to fourth. Rounding out the top five was freshmen Natasha Cohen (24:17.0) who continues to be a scorer for the Eagles. 
 
"The course was challenging but we went out more aggressively and used the downhills to our advantage" said Villavicencio, a freshman. "I focused on just catching the next person in front of me one at a time and that really helped me get through the race. It was a tough race for everyone but I'm really proud of how our team came together and fought hard to the finish. I'm excited to see what we can do at PL's in two weeks."
 
The Eagles will continue training for two more weeks and will be back Saturday, Oct. 31 for the Patriot League Championship hosted by Bucknell in Lewisburg, Pa.
 
Coaches' Corner
"We had a good day today," said head coach Sean Graham. "A couple guys ran very well, a couple had ok races. Understandably we were a little rusty, more so than I had hoped but for the most part put ourselves in aggressive positions to compete with some of the better teams in the nation currently.
 
"Our top 3 of Noah, Emmett, and Marcus were a very strong pack up front. I am particularly impressed with Noah's ability to move forward, especially with very strong competition!"
 
"Our second pack while getting out well, drifted a little in the middle, then found each other again towards the end. Our strength will be keeping that pack together moving into the championship portion of the season. All-in-all, a very good day with things to work on and sharpen up for our championship race at the end of the month".
 
"Really strong effort from the women's team," said coach Jordyn Pugh. "I saw there was a lot of awareness throughout the race. We specially talked about making small moves to pass competition at different points and I saw the really intentional effort to do that.
 
"If we continue to fine tune how we compete for each and every point, it will serve us well going into Patriot Leagues."
 
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Men's 8k Results, 7th
21. Noah Smith, 25:10.5
39. Emmett Engelhardt, 25:34.9
40. Marcus Valenzuela, 25:35.8
64. Zack Zerbe, 26:06.6
82. Jaden Frederick 26:36.5
86. Ty Parker, 26:40.6
91. Brandon Morrow, 26:49.6
94. Barak Goldstein, 26:55.0
95. Charles Lovett, 26:55.6
112. Daniel Messer, 27:28.7
132. Jaxyn Mahoney, 28:34.4
 
Women's 6k Results, 9th
30. Anna Villavicencio, 22:10.4
54. Shealyn Brochu, 22:46.2
77. Zoe Rector, 23:25.0
98. Estella Miller, 23:56.7
110. Natasha Cohen, 24:17.0
115. Fiona Murphy, 24:21.3
116: Kara Langbaum, 24:21.9
120. Charli McCue, 24:27.1
121. Marisol Montoya, 24:27.2
130. Georgina Chalow, 24:24.9
144. Scarlett Lestina, 25:21.1