Virginia Travels South for North Florida Invitational This Weekend

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.-The Virginia men’s and women’s outdoor track and field teams head to Jacksonville, Fla., for the Best Western North Florida Invitational Friday and Saturday (March 30-31).

Live results will be linked through VirginiaSports.com.

Last time out, the Cavaliers opened the 2012 outdoor season at the UVa Team Swashbuckle, the first meet at Lannigan Field since a complete renovation of the facility. The women finished first with 159 points, while the men placed second with 144 points.

Sophomore Anthony Kostelac (Charlottesville, Va.) came from behind to win the men’s 1,500 meters in a time of 3:45.34, just edging sophomore teammate Taylor Gilland (Chapel Hill, N.C.) by a hundredth of a second. Kostelac and Gilland’s times currently rank No. 1 and 2 in the country.

Senior Vincenzo Chiariello (Staten Island, N.Y.) broke his own Virginia record and won the men’s hammer throw with a toss of 61.46m (201′ 7.75″). Chiariello became the first Cavalier to surpass the 200-foot mark.

Fellow senior Maureen Laffan (Toms River, N.J.) won the first event at the new facility, taking the women’s hammer throw with a mark of 56.47m (185′ 3.25″).

In men’s javelin, senior Andy Fahringer (Whitehall, Pa.) won with a throw of 72.10m (236′ 6.5″), a distance that ranks fifth in the nation.

Next up, the Cavaliers split up for two in-state meets, the Colonial Relays in Williamsburg, Pa., and the Liberty Collegiate Invitational in Lynchburg, Va., on April 6-7.