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White Wins 10,000m On Day One of ACC Track & Field Championships
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April 18, 2013
RALEIGH, N.C. – The Virginia men’s and women’s track and field teams began competition at the 2013 ACC Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The Cavalier women are in third place and the men are in fourth place after the first day of the three-day meet.
Senior Catherine White won her second consecutive championship in the women’s 10,000 meters, becoming the fifth woman in ACC history to repeat in the event. Also starring on Thursday for Virginia was Abbey Karin, who was second in the women’s javelin, and Thomas Porter, who finished second in the men’s 10,000m.
“It was a very productive first day,” said head coach Bryan Fetzer. “In a lot of ways, both in the finals and the qualifying, it went close to what we expected. Anytime you can pick up three places in the women’s 10,000 or two places in the men’s 10,000, that being really productive. That event is always going to be a very strong component of our team. Abbey came up huge in the javelin. She has worked so hard and to come out and throw a lifetime best and finish second, is a major testament to what hard work can accomplish.”
The meet continues Friday on the campus of NC State. Due to the forecast of inclement weather, the schedule for day two has been altered. The times for all track events and most field events have been moved up two hours, along with the men’s pole vault being moved from Friday to Saturday. Friday’s track events will now start at 3:15 p.m., with the ACC webcast beginning at 3 p.m.
Women’s Day One Recap
The Cavaliers are in third place with 22 points after the first day of the meet. They trail NC State (28 pts) and Florida State (27 pts).
The highlight of day one came in the final event of the evening, the 10,000 meters. In addition to Catherine White winning her second consecutive 10,000m title, crossing the line in 34:12.79, Barbara Strehler finished sixth in a PR of 34:39.31 and Kathleen Stevens was eighth in a PR of 35:22.08.
“It is exciting to win the event again,” said White. “I was a little nervous coming into the race because I won it last year. I knew all eyes were going to be on me a little bit. In a 10K, I always try to get through the first half. I felt pretty comfortable through most of the race. When it gets down to 600 or 800 to go, it is time to fight, and I was able to pull away from the pack at the end.”
In the first event of the meet, Abbey Karin threw a PR of 159-6 to finish second in the javelin, improving her mark that ranks fourth in school history.
Thursday’s schedule had preliminary heats in three events and the Cavaliers had three athletes advance to the finals during those races. In the 200m, Jordan Lavender advanced by winning her heat in 23.87, while Peyton Chaney also advanced to the final with a PR of 24.09. Lavender had the third-fastest time in the preliminaries, while Chaney’s time was the ranked fifth. Vicky Fouhy won her heat in the women’s 1500m in 4:30.06 to advance to the finals of that event.
Also on Thursday was the beginning of the heptathlon. After the first day, Anna Finger is in eighth place with 2,770 points. She set a PR in two of the four events, the 100m hurdles and the 200m.
Men’s Day One Recap
Virginia is in fourth place with 10 points after the first day of the meet. They trail Florida State (20 pts), Duke (19 pts) and North Carolina (15 pts), as only two events have been completed.
The Cavaliers finished the day strong with two runners scoring in the men’s 10,000m. Thomas Porter used a late push to finish second in a time of 30:05.24, while Drew Paisley was seventh in 30:29.21.
Virginia had two athletes advance to event finals during Thursday’s preliminaries. Brandon Burton ran a PR of 52.79 to reach the final of the 400m hurdles. His time was the fifth best time in the qualifying heats. Anthony Kostelac ran the 1500m in a time of 3:48.92 to advance to the final with the 11th best time in the qualifying heats.
In the 200m qualifying heats, Payton Hazzard ran a PR of 21.37, the ninth best time in school history, but finished ninth, missing the final by .01 seconds.
The Cavaliers have two competitors in the decathlon as the first five events were held Thursday. Christian Lavorgna, who set a PR in the long jump, is in fifth place with 3,268 points. John Michael Pirtle sits in seventh place with 3,227 points. The competition concludes on Saturday.