Virginia Ready for 2012 ACC Indoor Championships

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.-The Virginia men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams travel to Boston for the 2012 ACC Indoor Championships Thursday through Sunday (Feb. 23-25) at the Reggie Lewis Track Center.

Live video will be streamed at theacc.com from 3:00-7:45 p.m., Friday and 12:00-4:00 p.m., Saturday, while live results will be linked via VirginiaSports.com.

“Our student-athletes have been able to take advantage of the opportunities given to them so far this indoor season,” Virginia director of track and field/cross country Bryan Fetzer said. “We’re looking for them to treat this like any other meet and keep getting better every day.”

Senior Marcus Robinson (Richmond, Va.) is currently ranked first in the nation in the men’s triple jump with a mark of 16.63m (54’6.75″), while junior Morgane Gay (Bethesda, Md.) is fifth in the nation and first in the conference with a 4:34.38 time in the women’s mile. Both Robinson and Gay have both automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships March 9-10.

Two other Cavaliers, freshmen Chris Foley (Chantilly, Va.) and Nick Vena (Morristown, N.J.) have top marks in the ACC this season. Foley ran a 14:03.67 in the 5,000 meters and Vena hit a mark of 18.45m (60’6.5″) in the shot put at the Flotrack Husky Classic two weekends ago (Feb. 10-11).

Seniors Mark Amirault (Walpole, Mass.) and Vincenzo Chiariello (Staten Island, N.Y.) have broken school records earlier this season. Amirault set a new UVa mark in the 3,000 meters (9:54.08) at the Husky Classic, while Chiariello earned a new school record in the weight throw (19.38m, 63’7″) at the Penn State National Invitational.

Juniors Pearl Bickersteth (Dumfries, Va) and Patrick Todd (Highland Park, Texas) are ranked second in the women’s high jump and the men’s mile, respectively. Bickersteth hit a personal-best mark of 1.75m (5’8.75″) at the Penn State National Invitational, while Todd ran a 4:02.70 in his season debut at the Flotrack Husky Classic.

The men finished fourth at last year’s meet with 77 points, while the women placed in a tie for sixth with 45 points. Virginia Tech’s men and Clemson’s women claimed the team titles a year ago in Blacksburg, Va.

The action begins with the pentathlon and the first day of the heptathlon on Thursday at noon, while all other events begin at 11 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.