Virginia's Men Enter USTFCCCA Rankings at No. 23

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NEW ORLEANS, La.-The Virginia men’s outdoor track and field team is ranked No. 23 in the latest U.S. Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association poll, the organization announced Tuesday (April 24). It is the first time the Cavaliers have been ranked this season.

Virginia is coming off a third-place finish at last weekend’s ACC Championships, held at newly renovated Lannigan Field. The Cavaliers earned five gold medals, including senior Marcus Robinson (Richmond, Va), who broke the school record in the triple jump with a mark of 16.40m (53′ 9.75″), the third-best mark in the country.

Freshman Nick Vena (Morristown, N.J.) was named the ACC Men’s Most Valuable Field Performer after winning the shot put (19.51m – 64′ 0.25″) and the discus (54.84m – 179′ 11″). The shot put mark ranks fifth in the nation and is a program record.

Senior Lance Roller (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.) won two gold medals at the conference meet, crossing the line first in the 800 meters in a time of 1:47.82, the 11th-best time in the nation. He was also a part of the 4×400-meter relay with senior Kevin Anding (Houston, Texas), sophomore Ozzie Bryan (Philadelphia, Pa.) and freshman anchor Payton Hazzard (Huntington, N.Y.) that finished first in a time of 3:08.80.

In the javelin, senior Andy Fahringer (Whitehall, Pa.) broke the school record and currently ranks seventh in the nation with a throw of 74.56m (244′ 7″).

The Cavaliers are one of three ACC schools represented in the poll, along with Florida State (No. 5) and Virginia Tech (No. 17).

Virginia returns to action this week with the Penn Relays (April 26-28) in Philadelphia, Pa., and the Highlander Invitational in Radford, Va., on April 28.