Brown, Carvalho Record Top-20 Finishes at Hokie Open

Liberty’s Rebecca Brown (16^th in women’s 4K) and Stephen Carvalho (18^th in men’s 6K) each posted top-20 finishes in the low-key Hokie Open, contested Friday afternoon at Virginia Tech’s Buford Meredith Cross Country Course.

The lone Lady Flame to compete in the race, Brown posted a time of 16:20.0 for 16^th place out of 27 entrants. It was the first-year Flame’s second race in as many days. Brown previously clocked a 19:08.24 5K in a time trial at the Matthes-Hopkins Track Complex, Thursday evening.

Carvalho’s 19:49.4 effort placed him 18^th of 35 in the men’s 6K as Liberty’s only entry. It was his second race in less than 24 hours and his third race in seven days. Carvalho notched the second fastest 5K of the night (14:47.10) during Thursday’s time trial, following a 55^th-place finish in 25:24.6 at last Saturday’s ASUN Cross Country Championships 8K in Huntsville, Ala.

Liberty will now turn its attention to the NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Championships. The meet, which will determine the team and individual qualifiers to the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships, is scheduled for Nov. 11 at the E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky.

The women’s 6K will begin at 11 a.m. with the men’s 10K to follow at noon.