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Feb. 12, 2004
The Virginia Cavaliers return to Blacksburg to compete at the Virginia Tech Invitational as a final tuneup before the ACC meet next weekend. With the conference meet taking place Feb 20-21 in Clemson, the Hoos are looking to set themselves up for a great championships with solid performances at Virginia Tech. A number Cavaliers rank in the top-10 in the conference, including Kellen Blassingame and David Sullivan, both of whom rank in two events.
Sullivan ranks in both vertical jumps, having cleared 15’9″ in the pole vault and 6’6″ in the high jump. A winner at the Lid Lifter meet in the pole vault, the versatile Sullivan has also scored in the high jump and the long jump this indoor season. Sullivan earned All-ACC honors in the pole vault in 2003 as a true freshman.
Blassingame ranks second in the conference in the 400, just one one-hundredth off the conference leading time. He also ranks tenth in the 200, having run 22.00 at the National Open at Penn State where he took eighth overall.
McGavock Dunbar, the defending champion in the 800-meter run, ranks second in that event as of last week and will compete in that event along with Amr Kouchouk, Matt Antunes, Jon Britt, Steve Carlson, and Walton Kingsbery. Kingsbery will also run the mile along with current school leader Grady Sullivan and James Atchinson, who leads the team in the 5K. Ryan Neuhart will also run the mile while Ben Yost, Matt Gutridge, Andrew Dumm, will compete in the 3K.
Walker Anderson, who leads the Cavaliers in the shot and weight, will compete in both events this weekend. Anderson is one of a handful of conference athletes who have cleared 50 feet in the shot. Isi Azeke and Gemayel Hazard are also on the conference top-10 list, coming in on the 60-meter hurdles. Both men will run in that event this weekend at Virginia Tech. Azeke, who leads the Cavaliers in the 60-meter dash by one one-hundredeth of a second over Shadion Buckley, will also compete in the sprint along with Buckley. Kevin Carson, Chase Holt, and Michael Johnson.
On the women’s side, first-year Meggie Schuelke ranks third in the conference in the high jump with her 5’9″ which she set in her victory at the Patriot Games. Teammate Rachel Marks is also in the top-10 in the same event. Alicia LaRoche and Kathryn Pettine are tied for top honors on the team in the pole vault and will compete in that event.
Caroline Harvey and Tomika Fergasun both rank in the top-10 in the conference in the horizontal jumps, with Harvey leading the team in the long jump and Fergasun holding top honors in the triple jump. They will compete in their respective events this weekend, as well as the 200m. Harvey will also run the 60m dash, attempting to improve on her team-leading time of 7.70.
Angie Saterstad, who leads the team in the mile, will run the 3K while fellow first year Janine Ricci, who leads the team in the 3K, will run the mile. Kelly Behan, Cheryl Carr, and Laura Hodges, all of whom rank in the top-10 in the conference in the 5K, will run the mile with Ricci along with Melanie Matthews and Sharon O’Connor, who ranks just behind Saterstad for the Cavaliers in that event.
The meet runs both Friday, Feb 13 and Saturday, Feb 14.