Virginia Women Finish Ninth at ACC Outdoor Championships

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May 16, 2015

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla.–The Virginia women’s track and field team placed ninth at the ACC Outdoor Championships Saturday (May 16) at Mike Long Track.

Virginia finished with 48.5 points, behind champion Clemson (113.5), Florida State (94.5), Miami (93), North Carolina (78.5), Notre Dame (72), Louisville (61), NC State (59) and Duke (51). Syracuse (33) was 10th, followed by Virginia Tech (32), Wake Forest (31), Pittsburgh (21), Boston College (19) and Georgia Tech (11).

“Both of our relays did really well and if you want to be a championship-type squad at the next level, you need to have good relays,” UVa head coach Bryan Fetzer said. “They gave us a great start which was exactly what we needed.”

The 4x100m relay of junior Peyton Chaney (Belleville, Ill.), sophomore Andrea Wright (Chesapeake, Va.), senior Jordan Lavender (Knoxville, Tenn.) and sophomore Tori McKenzie (Chatham, Va.) placed second in a time of 44.75, matching the school record set by the foursome earlier in the year.

Freshman Bridget Guy (Greensburg, Pa.) broke the school record in the pole vault, placing in a tie for fourth with a mark of 4.11m (13-5.75). Guy matched her previous school mark of 4.11m (13-1.75) on the first attempt at the height and then broke the program record on her next attempt.

“Bridget never ceases to amaze me,” UVa assistant coach Mario Wilson said. “She was seeded outside of the top eight and because of her hard work and dedication every day in training, she was able to break the school record with a clean jump and finish in a tie for fourth.”

“Bridget is a fierce competitor and was more upset that she did not do even better than she was happy that she broke the school record, and that is what you want as a coach,” Fetzer said.

Lavender finished fifth in the 400 meters in 52.71.

In the discus, freshman Carter Green (Ashland, Pa.) threw a season-best 46.21m (151-7) on her fifth throw to place seventh.

“Carter has been investing a lot of time in her technique and she went out and had fun,” UVa assistant coach Martin Maric said. “It was very good for her to come in as a first-year and be able to move up to seventh after being seeded 14th coming in.”

In the final event of the meet, the 4x400m relay of sophomore Heather Smith (Chesapeake, Va.), Lavender, graduate student Vanessa Fabrizio and Wright placed fifth in 3:37.65, the fifth-fastest time in school history.

The ACC Outdoor Track and Field Championships marked the close of the 2014-15 Commonwealth Clash, presented by Virginia 529, the official college savings plan of University of Virginia Athletics. There were two points at stake in the Virginia529 Commonwealth Clash, the new point rivalry series between the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech. With both the Cavalier men and women finishing ahead of the Hokies, Virginia wins the Clash by a final score of 15-7. Learn more about Virginia529 and this new competition at thecommonwealthclash.com.

Next up, the Cavaliers will compete at the NCAA East Preliminary in Jacksonville, Fla., May 28-30.