Women's DMR Squad Reconvenes to Shatter Outdoor School Record at Penn Relays
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PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Virginia’s distance medley relay team of junior Morgane Gay and seniors Ayla Smith, Lyndsay Harper and Stephanie Garcia reconvened after earning All-America honors with a third-place finish at the 2011 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in March, and finished third in the event on Thursday at the 117th running of the Penn Relays. The quartet combined to run 10:57.13, shattering the previous school record for the outdoor season set at 11:06.61 in 1987.
The record marks the second school record for the foursome this year, as they also broke Virginia’s all-time school record for the indoor season, running 10:59.33 to replace the 28-year-old record of 11:19.39 atop the leader board.
In other relay events today, Virginia’s 4x100m relay squad of senior Kisha Garrick, senior Kristina Chapman, junior Meagan Gillespie and sophomore Danielle Williams ran the program’s sixth-fastest time of all time – 45.72. The team raced against five of the top-10 teams in the NCAA this season and finished 13th overall to advance to tomorrow’s College Women’s 4x100m ECAC section, scheduled to race at 1:07 p.m.
Freshman Colin Mearns led the Cavaliers in individual events, as the first-year finished runner-up in the Olympic Development section of the men’s steeplechase. Mearns finished with the second-fastest freshman time at UVa – 9:04.08, while his brother, Andrew, was seventh overall with a time of 9:08.81.
In the college section of the women’s javelin, junior Tara Karin threw 145′ 1″ to finish third overall, while sophomore Pearl Bickersteth finished third in the Eastern Women’s High Jump section, clearing 5′ 7.75″. Freshman Emily Kianka also cleared 5′ 7.75″ to finish tied for fifth.
In the college shot put section, junior Maureen Laffan finished 10th with a mark of 44′ 6.75″. Freshman Chris Foley finished 13th in the men’s 5000m championships with a time of 14:18.08 – the fifth-best freshman time at UVa – and junior Anna Corrigan claimed 20th in the women’s 3000m championship, completing the race in 9:43.82.
Freshman Edy Ndem rounded out the Cavaliers competing today, finished 19th in the Eastern College Women’s Long Jump, leaping 17′ 9.75″.
The Cavaliers will return to action tomorrow, before concluding the Penn Relays on Saturday.