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Feb. 12, 2005

Virginia’s David Sullivan smashed his own school record in the pole vault with a leap of 5.30m, hitting the NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the process and taking second place at the Virginia Tech Challenge today in Blacksburg. Sullivan, who set the school record last year with a 5.20m, was one of a handful of Cavaliers who hit personal best and season best marks this weekend, a tune-up for next week’s ACC Championships.

Sullivan was one of five Virginia entries to take home runner-up honors as the women’s and men’s distance medley teams, Alex Tatu (mile), and Kellen Blassingame (400) all finished in second place. Tatu, who leads the ACC in the mile, led a 2-3 finish in that event as he finished just ahead of teammate Kevin McHale, while Blassingame set a season-best time in the 400 with a 47.80. His counterpart on the women’s team, Erin Crawford, also set a season-best time in the 400 with her 56.33. Crawford ran on Virginia’s 4×400 team that set a season-best 3:52.08, the second Cavalier relay that hit a season-best mark today as the DMR team also hit a season-best with their second-place finish.

First-year Janne’a Bridgeford qualified for the finals in the 55m dash, while fellow sprinter Ashley Gore set a season-best Virginia mark in the 200 with her 25.36. Janine Ricci and Suzanne Ginnow finished 2-3 in the mile, separated by just .18 seconds, both coming in under the previous season-best mark for 2005. Shannon Hawrylo also finished in the top-six, running the 800 in a Virginia-best 2:15.29. Rachel Marks, one of the top high jumpers in the ACC, gave the Cavaliers their best long jump mark of 2005 with her 5.67m leap today, while Tomika Ferguson also hit a season-best in the horizontal jumps, going a personal-best 12.45m in the triple jump en route to a fifth-place finish.

First-year Reuben Jones also qualified for the finals of the 55m dash, taking fifth in the finals while Blassingame finished eighth in the 200 after taking home second in the 400m. McGavock Dunbar won the bronze in the 800m with a 1:51.57 as he was the first attached runner across the line. Teammate Soeren Lindner also won bronze, running an 8:24.22 in the 3K, just ahead of teammate Ryan Foster, who ran an 8:28.54

WOMEN’S RESULTS
55m: Bridgeford, 7.12*, 8th; Oluwole, 7.22; Ferguson, 7.28; 200m: Gore, 25.36; Oluwole, 25.41; Bridgeford, 25.72; Crawford, 26.17; 400m: Crawford, 56.33; Gore, 57.33; Roberts, 58.18; 800m: Hawrylo, 2:15.29; Husain, 2:16.68; Mile: Ricci, 5:02.58; Ginnow, 5:02.76; Ensrud, 5:22.05; 3000m: Hodges, 10:19.84; Dolson, 10:37.54; 55mHH: Ashe, 8.21; Holman, 8.42; Smith, 8.61; Bailey, 8.73; Marks, 8.94; 4x400m: 3:52.08, 7th; DMR: 12:08.70, 2nd; HJ: Marks, 1.63m, 8th; Schuelke, 1.63m, 8th; PV: Pettine, 3.55m; LJ: Marks, 5.67m; Ferguson, 5.56m; Tershel, 5.29m; TJ: Ferguson, 12.45m, 5th; Marks, 10.98m.

MEN’S RESULTS
55m: Jones, 6.40*, 5th; Azeke, 6.64; 200m: Blassingame, 22.04, 8th; Azeke, 22.53; Jones, 22.60; Carson, 23.13; 400m: Blassingame, 47.80, 2nd; 800m: Dunbar, 1:51.57, 3rd; Davis, 1:53.49, 8th; Orr, 1:57.77; Hagos, 1:59.27; Mile: Tatu, 4:09.87, 2nd; McHale, 4:13.25, 3rd; Gutridge, 4:19.60; Neuhart, 4:24.48; Howick, 4:36.10; 3000m: Lindner, 8:24.22, 3rd; Foster, 8:28.54, 5th; Filachek, 8:40.74; Dumm, 8:41.99; Smith, 8:44.69; Villegas, 8:47.44; Kingsbery, 8:47.69; Vitto, 8:48.58; Gambale, 8:54.35; Williams, 9:02.50; Lyng, 9:06.34; Kane, 9:13.11; 55mHH: Azeke, 7.51*, 8th; Canaday, 7.68; Codevilla, 8.27; 4x400m: 3:17.53, 5th; DMR: 10:09.69, 2nd; HJ: Codevilla, 1.90m; PV: Sullivan, 5.30, 2nd, School Record, NCAA Provisional Mark; Blair, 4.90m, 8th; Lewis, 4.30m; LJ: Pendelton, 6.77m; Azeke, 6.53m; TJ: Pendleton, 14.45m

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