Cross Country
Hiruni Wijayaratne - Cross Country - University of Kentucky Athletics

HiruniWijayaratne

  • class Senior
  • High school Herndon

• Virginia High School State Champion – 3,200m Run

2011-12 (Junior):Cross Country– Season-best finish of 10th place came at the Tennessee Invitational with a 5K time of 19.29.20 … Lowered her 5K time in the next race crossing the line in 18:57.08 at the Greater Louisville Cross Country Classic …Best 6K time of the season came at the NCAA Southeast Region Championships as she stopped the clock at 22:59.20.

2010-11 (Sophomore): Cross Country – Made strong improvements from her freshman season in the 5K and 6K races … Recorded personal-best times in the 5K and 6K at the San Francisco Invitational and SEC Championship, respectively … Crossed the finish line at the San Francisco Invitational with a personal-best 5K time of 18:54 … Finished in 21st place in the San Francisco Invitational …Posted a personal-best 6K time of 23:24.44 at the SEC Championship … Finished in 82nd place in the SEC Championship … Had four top-100 finishes … Finished in the top-five on the team in the SEC Championship. Indoor – Had the fifth-best time on the team in the one-mile run, finishing in 5:14.53 at the VT Elite Meet. Outdoor – A distance runner, competed in the 1,500m, 3,000m and 5,000m runs … Set a season-best time in the 1,500m at the Sea Ray Relays … Fastest time in the 3,000m run came at the USF Bulls Invitational … Best run in the 5,000m occurred at the SEC Championships.

2009-10 (Freshman):
Cross Country – Competed in three meets for UK … Best result came at the SEC Championships with a ninth-place team finish recording a 6K time of 24:50 … Completed 5K Old Timers Classic course in 19:45.Indoor – Competed inthe mile run for the Wildcats with a season-best timecoming at the Rod McCravy Memorial Meet at5:20.10. Outdoor – Did not compete.

High School: Finished fifth at the USATF National Cross Country Meet after being crowned a regional and area champion as a senior … Virginia state, regional and district champion in the 3,200m outdoor run as a junior … Finished eighth overall in the 3,000m run at the Penn Relays Carnival … Placed third at the outdoor state meet in the 3,200m run after claiming regional championship as a sophomore … Outdoor track regional and district champion in the 1,600m run as a junior … Member of district champion 3,200m relay team as a junior … Indoor track regional and district champion in the 1,600m and 3,200m runs as a senior before placing second at the state meet in the latter … Placed third at the indoor state meet in the 3,200m run and as a member of the 3,200m relay team in junior year … Finished second in 1,600m run at indoor regional championships as a junior … Indoor track district champion in the 1,600m and 3,200m runs as well as the 3,200m relay as a junior … Clinched three individual cross country meet titles over final two seasons … Four-year letterwinner in cross country and track … Three-time cross country team MVP and served as team captain … As a junior ran on a cross country team that finished fifth at the state championships after clinching regional and district titles … Her senior indoor and outdoor track teams were runners-up at the regional … Holds school records in 1,600m, 3,200m and 5,000m runs … Coached by Pete Sherry … Academic accolades include AP Scholar with Honors, honor society memberships and multiple time honor roll student … Member of chemistry and math honor societies … Volunteered with church in blanket drive, soup kitchen and community holiday dinners.

Personal: Full name is Hiruni Kesara Wijayaratne … Born Dec. 5, 1990 in Colombo, Sri Lanka … Parents are Punu and Savithri Wijayaratne … Has one brother – Akhila … Major is biology.

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