Women's Track & Field Concludes Strong Performance in Kentucky
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Jan. 24, 2015
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Virginia women’s track and field team concluded a strong performance Saturday at the Rod McCravy Memorial Meet on the campus of the University of Kentucky. Competing against seven of the top 10 teams in the nation, the Cavaliers had numerous PRs and top-10 all-time performances.
“This was an incredible meet, and honestly, a preview of the NCAA Indoor Nationals,” said head coach Bryan Fetzer. “We had some individuals that accepted the challenge and rose to the level of the competition. We have others that have settled too much and are content with just being good. To take it to the next level, we need everyone fighting to be great.”
Graduate student Morgan Kelly (San Francisco, Calif.), making her Cavalier indoor track debut, posted the seventh fastest time in school history in the 3000m at 9:27.59. Kathleen Stevens (Blacksburg, Va.) finished 11th in the 3000m in a time of 9:39.24, Sarah Fakler (Phoenix, Ariz.) was 13th in a time of 9:40.83 and Megan Rebholz (Stafford, Va.) had the fourth-fastest freshman time in the event in school history, crossing in 15th place in 9:42.55.
Earlier in the day, Iona Lake (Norwich, England) and Kelly finished 12th and 13th, respectively, in the mile.
Jordan Lavender (Nashville, Tenn.), the reigning ACC champion in the 400m, made her season debut in the event, finishing seventh in a time of 54.00. In the 60m hurdles, Heather Smith (Chesapeake, Va.) ran a PR of 8.72, tied for the seventh-best time in school history.
In the final event of the day, the Cavalier 4x400m relay team finished in eighth place. Smith, Lavender, Vanessa Fabrizio (Denver, Colo.) and Peyton Chaney (Belleville, Ill.) posted a time of 3:42.87, ranking top-20 nationally and just shy of cracking the all-time top-five list at Virginia.
“Our distance women all had solid doubles,” said Fetzer. “Morgan is really fit right now and we expect big things to come in the near future. The one I am really impressed with is Megan Rebholz; she is tough and runs with a huge heart. Our sprint group focused mostly on relays this weekend as we try to figure out who will toe the line down the road for us.”
Virginia will return to action next weekend at the John Thomas Terrier Invitational in Boston, Mass. The women will compete on Friday (Jan. 30) and the men will compete on Saturday (Jan. 31).