Big Weekend Propels Cavaliers in NCAA Rankings
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.-After a big weekend at the Flotrack Husky Classic and the Tyson Invitational (Feb. 10-11), the Virginia men’s and women’s indoor track and field now have four individuals ranking in the top-20 in the NCAA in their respective events. In addition, the Virginia men are up to 27th in the nation and second in the Southeast region, while the women are up two spots to seventh in the region.
Senior Marcus Robinson (Richmond, Va.) leads the Cavaliers and the nation and is currently ranked ninth in the IAAF World Rankings in the men’s triple jump after hitting a mark of 16.63m (54’6.75″) at the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark. His leap was an ACC indoor and Virginia school record and was honored as the ACC Co-Men’s Performer of the Week and on CollegeSports360.com’s Primetime Performers Weekly Honor Roll.
Robinson already qualified for the NCAA meet with a triple jump of 16.30m (53’5.75″) at the Penn State National Invitational on Jan. 28. He was a second-team All-American in the event at the 2011 national meet.
Junior Morgane Gay (Bethesda, Md.) qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the women’s mile in a time of 4:34.38 at the Flotrack Husky Classic in Seattle, Wash., just sixth one-hundredths of a second off the UVa record.
Gay is a four-time All-American, having earned citations in 2011- at the NCAA Cross Country Championships and first-team All-American honors in the distance medley relay (indoor) and 1500 meters (outdoor). She became the first Cavalier freshman to earn All-American credit when she earned second-team status in the 1500m in 2009.
Freshman Nick Vena (Morristown, N.J.) moved up the rankings in the men’s shot put all the way up to 17th with a throw of 18.45m (60’6.5″). He’s improved with every meet during this season and five of his throws Saturday were farther than his previous season-best mark of 17.53m (57’6.25″).
Senior Mark Amirault (Walpole, Mass.) broke the school record in the 3,000 meters and currently sits in 19th place in the nation with a time of 7:54.08. Amirault, who was a second-team All-American for Princeton in the outdoor 5,000 meters a year ago, broke Kris Herdt’s 25-year old school mark.
Cavaliers in the Rankings (NCAA Top 50)
| Student-Athlete | Event | NCAA rank | Time/Mark |
| Marcus Robinson | Men’s Triple Jump | 1st | 16.63m (54’6.75″)*^ |
| Morgane Gay | Women’s Mile | 5th | 4:34.38* |
| Nick Vena | Men’s Shot Put | 17th | 17.53m (57’6.25″) |
| Mark Amirault | Men’s 3,000 meters | 19th | 7:54.08^ |
| Dallas Rose | Women’s Triple Jump | 23rd | 12.65m (41’6″) |
| Chris Foley | Men’s 5,000 meters | 34th | 14:03.67 |
| Vincenzo Chiariello | Men’s Weight Throw | 35th | 19.38m (63’7″)^ |
| Anna Corrigan | Women’s 5,000 meters | 44th | 16:31.18 |
| Patrick Todd | Men’s Mile | 44th | 4:02.70 |
| Anthony Kostelac | Men’s Mile | 47th | 4:02.99 |
| Pearl Bickersteth | Women’s High Jump | 48th | 1.75m (5’8.75″) |
* denotes NCAA automatic-qualifying time
^ denotes Virginia school record