Cavaliers Head to Penn State National Invitational

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. This weekend the Virginia track and field team will head to State College, Pa., to participate in the Penn State National Invitational. The meet will be held in the Ashenfelter Multi-Sport Facility, with events scheduled for Friday and Saturday.

The Cavaliers are going into the meet following successes at the Virginia Tech Invitational and the Virginia Tech Challenge, where two Cavaliers reached NCAA provisional qualifying marks.

At the VT Invitational, freshman Matt Meyer (Suhlendorf, Germany) broke Virginia’s all-time record in the long jump. His 24’ 8.25” jump broke the previous record of 24’ 7.25” held by Marion Mason and Tiki Barber, and provisionally qualified him for the NCAA Indoor Championships in March. He is currently ranked 13th in the nation in the long jump.

The team returned to Blacksburg just one week later to participate in the VT Challenge, where senior Yemi Ayeni broke his own school record in the shot put, hitting a mark of 61’ 8.25”. With his performance he was able to provisionally qualify for the NCAA Championships and earned the ACC Performer of the Week honor. His throw currently ranks him third in the nation.

Junior hurdler Ayla Smith has also broke a school record this season, shattering Kim Turko’s 8.55 60m hurdle record from 2001. Smith ran 8.45 in the event at the VT Challenge and is one-tenth of a second shy of reaching the NCAA provisional qualifying mark.

Up next, the Cavaliers will travel to New York City to participate in the Armory Duals on Saturday, Feb. 14.