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Cavaliers Win Four Individual Titles on the Final Day of ACC Outdoor Championships
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April 19, 2014
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The Virginia men’s and women’s track and field teams concluded action Saturday at the 2014 ACC Outdoor Track and Field Championships on the campus of the University of North Carolina. The Virginia women had a seventh place finish, while the men posted an eighth place finish.
Saturday’s action was highlighted by four Cavaliers winning events to earn ACC individual championships. Jordan Lavender (Nashville, Tenn.), the women’s running MVP of meet, won the women’s 400m title for the second consecutive year. The Cavaliers swept the triple jump championships with Dallas Rose (Pearland, Texas) winning the women’s title and Ryan Satchell (Central Islip, N.Y.) winning the men’s title. Filip Mihaljevic (Livno, Bosnia and Herzegovina) took the championship in the men’s discus.
The Cavaliers concluded the meet by breaking the school record in the women’s 4x400m relay, a mark that had stood for 29 years.
WOMEN’S DAY THREE RECAP
The Cavaliers finished in seventh place with 60 points. Florida State won the championship with 111 points followed by Notre Dame (96 pts) and Miami (94 pts).
Lavender was named the 2014 ACC Outdoor Women’s Running MVP, as she swept that honor at both the indoor and outdoor meets this year. She defended her ACC title in the 400m, crossing in a time of 52.48, a PR and the second fastest time in school history. She has won the last three ACC 400m titles (2013 outdoor, 2014 indoor and outdoor) and becomes the first Cavalier woman to win the same event indoors and outdoors in the same year since Kelly Bodiford in the shot put in 1991.
Lavender also led a strong Cavalier performance in the 200m. She finished second in a time of 23.42, the second fastest time in school history. Peyton Chaney (Belleville, Ill.) was seventh in the event, with a time of 24.00.
“There isn’t too much you can say about Jordan Lavender,” said head coach Bryan Fetzer. “For her to PR in both of her events and be a part of a school record relay today shows what kind of competitor she is. When the stage is the biggest, she brings her best and that is what championship athletes do.”
Rose won her first ACC Championship, taking first in the triple jump with a mark of 42-4.25. She is the first Cavalier to win the women’s triple jump since Dana Boone in 1991.
“I am so proud of Dallas,” said Fetzer. “She came back for her fifth year with the goal of winning an ACC championship. She had been close before, so it was great to see her get that championship.”
Vanessa Fabrizio (Denver, Colo.) also had a strong performance that ranks second all-time in Virginia history, running a PR of 2:04.77 to finish second in the 800m. Chaney added had a fifth place finish in the 100m, crossing in a time of 11.82. Barbara Strehler (Richmond, Va.) also scored for the Cavaliers, finishing eighth in the 5000m.
The Cavaliers set the school record in the 4x400m relay to conclude the meet. Chimere Ezumah (Gardena, Calif.), Lavender, Fabrizio and Andrea Wright (Chesapeake, Va.) ran 3:35.74 to finish second in the event. It broke the school record of 3:36.24 that had stood since 1985.
Virginia also had a third place finish in the 4×100 as the team of Rose, Wright, Chaney and Lavender ran a time of 45.23.
MEN’S DAY THREE RECAP
The Cavaliers finished in eighth place with 53 points. Florida State won the championship with 113 points, edging host North Carolina (110 pts) and Notre Dame (88 pts).
Virginia had a strong performance in the triple jump, with Chris Rogers (Midlothian, Va.) finishing seventh in addition to Satchell’s title in the event. Satchell won on his final jump, posting a mark of 51-0 on the last jump of the meet to take first. He becomes the first Cavalier to win the men’s triple jump since Marcus Robinson in 2012.
“It was a great performance by Ryan,” said Fetzer. “It was yet another meet that he won the event on his final jump. To come up with your best mark when the pressure is on, that is what performing at this level is all about.”
Mihaljevic won his first ACC championship with a throw of 181-8 in the discus. He becomes the first Cavalier to win the men’s discus since Nick Vena in 2012.
“It is always tough to win when you are the favorite,” said Fetzer. “A lot of times it is easier to be the hunter instead of the hunted. For Filip to win the discus in some tough conditions in his first ACC meet was a great accomplishment.”
Payton Hazzard (Huntington, N.Y.) earned All-ACC honors in the 400m, crossing in a season-best time of 46.44 to finish third in the event. Brandon Burton (Newport News, Va.) was seventh in the 400m hurdles and Mike Marsella (Hope Valley, R.I.) added an eighth place finish in the 800m.
The Cavaliers concluded the day with a fifth place finish in the 4x400m relay. David Bartha (Bonyhad, Hungary), Hazzard, Nathan Kiley (Chantilly, Va.) and Burton won flight 1 in 3:11.10 to finish fifth overall.