Robinson Qualifies for NCAAs in Triple Jump at Penn State
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.-Senior Marcus Robinson (Richmond, Va.) qualified for the 2012 NCAA Indoor Championships and broke the school record in the men’s triple jump as the Virginia men’s and women’s track and field teams completed action at the Penn State National Invitational Saturday (Jan. 28).
Robinson’s mark of 16.30m (53’5.75″) broke Keith Witherspoon’s previous record (53’0.25″), set in 1976, by over five inches and is the best jump in the nation so far this season. Robinson was a second-team All-American in the event in 2011.
“It feels great to have broken such an old school record, and it’s even more special considering it was my high school coach’s record,” Robinson said. “The fact that it’s the top mark in the country is even more amazing. I’m excited about the rest of the season and what we have in store.”
Also in the men’s triple jump, freshman Ryan Satchell (Central Islip, N.Y.) finished seventh with a mark of 14.83m (48’8″), ninth on the Virginia’s all-time list.
Junior Dallas Rose (Pearland, Texas) won the women’s triple jump with a leap of 12.65m (41’6″), the fifth-best mark in school history.
Senior Maureen Laffan (Toms River, N.J.) earned second in the women’s shot put with a throw of 14.85m (48’8.75″), her second silver of the weekend.
“We had a solid day,” Virginia director of track and field/cross country Bryan Fetzer said. “We made some improvements and it was another day of getting better and taking one step at a time.”
In the women’s high jump, junior Pearl Bickersteth (Dumfries, Va.) placed fourth hitting a mark of 1.75m (5’8.75″), the sixth-best in school history, while sophomore Emily Kianka (Pennington, N.J.) and freshman Moira Cronin (Andover, Mass.) finished fifth and seventh, respectively.
In the men’s shot put, freshman Nick Vena (Morristown, N.J.) finished seventh with a season-best mark of 17.53m (57’6.25″), the third-best mark in Wahoo history.
Sophomore Anthony Kostelac (Charlottesville, Va.) placed seventh in the men’s mile in 4:05.12, the 10th-best time on UVa’s all-time list, while sophomore Taylor Gilland (Chapel Hill, N.C..) finished ninth in 4:06.45.
In the men’s 3,000-meter run, junior Sean Keveren (Brentwood, Tenn.) finished sixth in 8:17.40, while in the women’s 3,000-meter run, senior Anna Corrigan (Burke, Va.) crossed the line eighth in 9:32.14.
Freshman Christian Lovorgna (Sparta, N.J.) finished sixth in the heptathlon with 4,567 points, over 300 points more than his heptathlon at the Liberty Kick-Off in December and the third-best score in school history.
In earlier sections of the running events, freshman Kyle King (Yorktown, Va.) earned second in the men’s 3,000-meter run in 8:25.04, while classmate David Cotton (Madison, Conn.) placed fourth in 8:28.39.
In the men’s 500-meter dash, freshman Payton Hazzard (Huntington, N.Y.) crossed the line second in 1:04.24. Fellow freshman Ed Schrom (Harrisburg, Pa.) also placed second in the men’s mile run in 4:10.58.
Junior Rosemary Barber (Springfield, Va.) placed fifth in the women’s 1,000-meter run in 2:57.12.
In the women’s 200-meter dash, freshman Jordan Lavender (Nashville, Tenn.) and junior Danielle Williams (Alexandria, Va.) finished sixth and seventh in 24.70 and 24.71, respectively.
Next weekend, the ‘Hoos will split up for different meets, including the Liberty Quad in Lynchburg, Va. (Feb. 10), the Husky Classic in Seattle, Wash. (Feb. 10-11) and the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark. (Feb. 10-11).