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BLACKSBURG, Va. – Sophomore Vincenzo Chiariello broke Virginia’s all-time program record in the weight throw on the opening day of the Hokie Invitational, while the Cavaliers’ men’s 4x800m relay team broke Virginia Tech’s Rector Field House facility record.

Chiariello tossed 61’ 2.25” in the weight throw to surpass Thom McKinney’s school record of 60’ 5.75” from 1991. He finished eighth overall at the meet.

On the track, in the men’s 4x800m relay, freshman Zack Vrhovac, senior Alex Bowman, sophomore Sintayehu Taye and freshman Robby Andrews shattered Rector Field House’s facility record of 7:37.76 held by North Carolina since 2000, combining for a time of 7:26.49. Their mark was just three-seconds shy of UVa’s school record. The Cavaliers also fielded another 4x800m relay team of senior Steve Finley, freshman Brett Johnson, junior John Minen and sophomore Lance Roller. This group also bettered the previous facility record, finishing runner-up to their teammates with a time of 7:27.87.

In the women’s 4x800m relay, UVa’s quartet of senior Jen Hovland, sophomore Tasia Potasinski, junior Ariane Sloan and sophomore Rosemary Barber combined to win the event with a time of 9:01.31.

Senior Stephanie Garcia put in the program’s seventh fastest mile time, finishing second in 4:45.73 and hit the provisionally qualify mark for the NCAA Championships, while junior Kisha Garrick tied Tiffany Robert’s 10th-best 60m time from 2007, finishing 18th in 7.70. Freshman Emily Vannoy also made her way onto Virginia’s top-10 lists in the weight throw, finishing seventh with a throw of 52’ 6”. Her mark is the sixth-best mark in UVa history.

To wrap up the day, Andrews won his first collegiate event – the 600m in 1:19.35, while teammate Roller finished runner-up in the race in 1:20.32.

Virginia will conclude the Hokie Invitational tomorrow. Events will begin at 9 a.m., with live results at FlashResults.com.

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