Virginia Travels to Penn State National Invitational This Weekend

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.-The Virginia men’s and women’s track and field teams travel to University Park, Pa., this weekend (Jan. 27-28) for the Penn State National Invitational. The meet is scheduled to feature over 30 teams and well over 1,000 student-athletes.

Live results will be available through VirginiaSports.com.

It will be the season debut for many of the Cavalier middle distance and distance runners this season, including seniors Mark Amirault (Walpole, Mass.) and Morgane Gay (Bethesda, Md.), who earned All-America honors at the 2011 NCAA Cross Country Championships in November.

Last time out, the ‘Hoos competed in the Hokie Invitational on Jan. 20-21 at the Rector Fieldhouse in Blacksburg, Va.

On Saturday, junior Pearl Bickersteth (Dumfries, Va.) won the women’s high jump with a mark of 1.73m (5’8″), while sophomore Emily Kianka (Pennington, N.J.) earned second at 1.68m (5’6″).

Sophomore Vanessa Fabrizio (Denver, Colo.) finished second in the women’s 800-meter run in a time of 2:09.26 and is currently ranked seventh in the nation.

In the men’s shot put, freshman Nick Vena (Morristown, N.J.) threw a second-place distance of 17.40m (57’1), the third-best mark in school history.

On the first day of action, junior Lance Roller (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.) crossed the line second in the men’s 600-meter run in 1:18.50, while in the women’s weight throw, senior Maureen Laffan (Toms River, N.J.) finished second with a mark of 17.86m (58’7.25″), the second-best throw in school history.

Next up, the ‘Hoos will split up for four different meets, including the Liberty Quad in Lynchburg, Va. (Feb. 10), the Husky Classic in Seattle, Wash. (Feb. 10-11), the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark. (Feb. 10-11) and the Millrose Games in New York City (Feb. 11).