Andrews Finishes Runner-Up at USA Junior Championships to Advance to Junior World Championships
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DES MOINES, Iowa – Freshman Robby Andrews finished runner-up in the 800m at the USA Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Drake Stadium on Friday to advance to the 13th IAAF World Junior Championships in Moncton, Canada on July 19-25.
Andrews, the top-ranked junior (19-and-under) in the world at 800m, finished runner-up to Penn State’s Casimier Loxsom and will join Loxsom to represent Team USA at the world junior championships. Loxsom won the USA Junior National Title in a time of 1:47.45, while Andrews finished second in 1:47.75.
In the senior competition, senior All-American Meghan Briggs concluded her career with a 10th-place finish in the javelin throw. With a mark of 155’ 5”, Briggs was the fourth collegiate finisher overall. A three-time ACC Champion and four-time All-ACC performer in the javelin, Briggs advanced to three NCAA Championships in four years and earned All-America honors in 2009. She also won the Penn Relays Championship of America title as a junior. Her personal-best throw of 172’ 9” ranks as the third-best throw at UVa.
Roller wrapped up his year with a 14th-place finish – and as the sixth collegiate finisher – in the senior section of the 800m in a time of 1:48.41. An All-American in the event this year, Roller’s personal-best time of 1:46.11 from NCAAs ranks as the third-best time on Virginia’s all-time program records and seventh in United States this season.
In the junior championships, freshman Robert Guider used a mark of 198’ 2” on his fourth attempt in the 6k hammer throw to move from seventh to fifth place. His fifth-place finish wraps up his inaugural season as a Cavalier. Guider advanced to the finals of the hammer at ACCs, where he threw 182’ 8” – the third-best mark in program history. He is also ranked second in UVa’s all-time freshman records with that throw.
Freshman Pearl Bickersteth also wrapped up her season, finishing tied for eighth in the high jump, clearing 5’ 5.25”. An ACC finalist in the high jump, Bickersteth’s best jump of 5’ 8.5” from the conference meet ranks tied for eighth on Virginia’s program records list.
Classmate Dallas Rose earned a seventh-place finish in the triple jump, leaping 38’ 11”, to wrap up her inaugural season as a Cavalier. Rose is Virginia’s freshman record holder in the triple jump with her best leap of 41’ 6.5” from the Texas Relays. That mark also ranks fourth on the program’s all-time records.
Virginia will conclude competition in the USA Outdoor Championships on Sunday, as senior Stephanie Garcia will race in the finals of the steeplechase at 2:15 p.m.