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Men's Track and Field Preview
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia’s men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams will open their respective seasons this weekend at the Virginia Tech Invitational. Events are scheduled to begin on Friday, Jan. 15 at 5 p.m., before concluding Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. Live results will be available on FlashResults.com.
Men’s Season Outlook
Coming off a 15th-place finish at the 2009 NCAA Cross Country Championships, a program-best third-place finish at the 2009 ACC Indoor Championships and its first-ever conference championship during the 2009 outdoor season, the Cavalier men will welcome the No. 9 nationally ranked recruiting class to Charlottesville to continue to build Virginia into a national powerhouse.
Distance/Middle Distance
Virginia’s distance and middle distance crew looks to be among the best in the nation. The Cavaliers return Lance Roller and Sintayehu Taye, All-Americans in the DMR, to the middle distance group, in addition to welcoming back All-ACC performer Andrew Lobb in the 800m. With the addition of freshmen state champions Robby Andrews and Brett Johnson, the Cavaliers will look to dominate the middle distance events.
Featuring ACC Champions Ryan Collins and Emil Heineking, in addition to cross country all-region performer Graham Tribble, the distance crew will look to be at the top of the conference. Collins will look to defend his indoor 5k title, while Trey Miller and freshman Taylor Gilland will add valuable depth in the longer events.
Throws
The Cavaliers’ throws contingent will look to reload following the graduation of All-American Yemi Ayeni. Virginia has some promising young talent in Andy Fahringer and Enzo Chiariello, as the duo each scored at the conference meet a year ago. With the help of Eric Pickle in the discus and shot put and newcomer Robert Guider – a high school All-American in the hammer and weight throw, the Cavaliers will look to make their mark in each of the throwing events.
Sprints/Hurdles/Relays
Nearly the entire group of sprinters and hurdlers return to Virginia’s short distances. Coming off an ACC Championship from Adams Abdulrazaaq in the 110m hurdles and with the addition of All-American transfer Steve Delice in the 400m hurdles, the Cavaliers’ hurdlers will make their presence known.
In addition, Virginia’s entire 4x400m team returns after finishing third at last year’s ACC Championships and will be anchored by All-ACC performer Kevin Anding and All-American Meikle Paschal. Anding also returns to the 4x100m relay that scored at the conference meet.
Jumps
East Region qualifier Marcus Robinson’s dual threat in the horizontal jumps and Greg Nelson’s points at the ACC Championships in the high jump will be crucial to Virginia’s success in the jumps this season. With the return of Matt Meyer – who broke the school record in the long jump last indoor season – and addition of Matthew Armentrout – the National Scholastic Indoor Pole Vault Champion – the Cavaliers look to have one of the strongest jumping units in recent Virginia history.