White breaks Colonial Relays and Zable Stadium Records in 5,000
WILLIAMSBURG, Va.-Two school records in the hammer throw, two freshmen records in the 5,000 meters as well as a Colonial Relays and Zable Stadium record in the 5,000 highlighted action as the Virginia men’s and women’s outdoor track and field teams completed competition at day one of both the 47th Colonial Relays in Williamsburg, Va., and the Liberty Collegiate Invitational in Lynchburg, Va.
“From top to bottom, from here (Williamsburg) to Liberty, we couldn’t ask for much more of a confidence booster getting ready for ACCs,” director of track and field/cross country Bryan Fetzer said. “From what our men and women did in the 5K’s tonight, to the school records in the hammer throw, to the continued improvement of our hurdlers making two finals in a row, we have a ton of momentum coming into Track-Ville in two weeks.”
Senior Maureen Laffan (Toms River, N.J.) broke her own school mark with her first throw of 58.70m (192′ 7″) and then launched the hammer three feet further, hitting a mark of 59.62m (195′ 7″). She placed first in the competition, while senior Erin Wykoff (St. Jacob, Ill) placed fifth with a distance of 53.38m (175′ 1″), the third-best mark in program history.
Fellow senior Vincenzo Chiariello (Staten Island, N.Y.) has broken the men’s school mark in the hammer throw for the third meet in a row, this time with a distance of 62.06m (203′ 7″) in his only successful throw, to place first. Sophomore James Fuson (Glen Allen, Va.) placed fourth with a mark of 54.64m (179′ 3″).
At the Colonial Relays, senior Catherine White (Roanoake, Va.) won the women’s 5,000 meters in a time of 16:04.58, a new Zable Stadium and Colonial Relays record. It is also the third-fastest time in school history.
Redshirt freshman Chelsea Ley (Woolwich Township, N.J.) placed fourth in 16:12.62, the fourth-fastest time in school history and a UVa freshman record.
In the men’s 5,000 meters, junior Sean Keveren (Brentwood, Tenn.) set the second-fastest time in school history and claimed gold in a time of 13:48.34, a US Olympic Trial provisional time.
Freshman Kyle King (Yorktown, Va.) finished fifth in 13:55.60, a new Virginia freshman record, the fourth-fastest all-time mark at UVa and a World Junior Championships standard time.
Freshman Payton Hazzard (Huntington, N.Y.) finished third in the men’s 400 meters with a time of 48.32, a new PR, while in the women’s 400-meter hurdles, senior Meagan Gillespie (Brooklyn, N.Y.) crossed the line third in 1:03.14.
In the women’s 200 meters, freshman Jordan Lavender (Nashville, Tenn.) and junior Danielle Williams (Alexandria, Va.) came in third and fourth in times of 24.19 and 24.32, respectively. Lavender’s time is the third-best freshman time in school history.
Both sophomore Aaron Shepperd (Washington, D.C.) and freshman Devin Brewer (Dumfries, Va.) qualified for the two-heat final in the men’s 110-meter hurdles in times of 14.55 and 14.59, respectively. Brewer also finished fifth in the men’s 400-meter hurdles in 53.48, the fifth-fastest time in Virginia freshman history.
In the women’s 800 meters, redshirt freshman Vanessa Fabrizio (Denver, Colo.) used a late kick to win her heat and place sixth overall in 2:09.71.
Junior Patrick Todd (Highland Park, Texas) won his heat and finished seventh overall in the men’s 800 meters in a time of 1:52.93, while freshman Jake Brown (Fredericksburg, Va.) crossed the line first in his heat in come-from-behind fashion in 1:55.15.
In her first time competing in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase, senior Chelsea France (Dublin, Ohio) placed seventh in a time of 10:50.57.
Also at Liberty, after five events, freshman Alex Mulchandani (Potomac, Md.) is ranked fifth in the decathlon with 2,965 points.
In the women’s javelin, sophomore Abbey Karin (Byfield, Mass.) won with a mark of 43.09m (141′ 4″), the sixth-best mark in school history.
The action in Williamsburg and Lynchburg continues tomorrow at 9 a.m. The Cavaliers host the ACC Outdoor Championships April 19-21 at newly renovated Lannigan Field.