Young Earns All-America Honors in Hammer Throw on NCAA First Day
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June 10, 2015
EUGENE, Ore. – The eighth-ranked Virginia men’s track and field team began competition at the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships Wednesday at historic Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon. The opening day of the meet was highlighted by sophomore Jordan Young (Windsor, Ontario) finishing seventh in the men’s hammer throw to earn All-America honors.
Young finished seventh in the hammer throw with a mark of 68.16m (223-7) to score the Cavaliers’ two points of the opening day. It was an improvement from his 14th-place finish in the event last year during his freshman season at Arizona.
Virginia had two athletes in the men’s shot put, both narrowly missing the top eight. Filip Mihaljevic (Livno, Bosnia and Herzegovina) advanced to the finals for the second straight year, but finished ninth with a mark of 19.51m (64-0.25). Young finished in 10th place with a mark of 18.97m (62-3), missing the finals by one place.
“Jordan did an amazing job in the hammer,” said assistant coach Martin Maric. “He has had a tough two weeks, as he has been battling a cold. He still managed to go out there and finish seventh, which was great. In shot put, we didn’t have much luck. Jordan just missed the finals and then Filip was struggling with his technique. It was a close event where 15 centimeters was the difference in five places. These things happen in competitions and better to have it happen now, when they are sophomores. They were some of the youngest ones here and they are only going to get better.”
Payton Hazzard (Huntington, N.Y.) finished his Cavalier career with a 12th-place finish in the 400m to earn second-team All-America honors. He crossed the line in 46.42 and concludes his career as the school record holder in the event.
Kyle King (Yorktown, Va.) competed in the 3000m steeplechase at the NCAA Championships for the second consecutive year. His time of 8:54.44 placed him 18th in the semifinals to earn honorable mention All-America honors.
Henry Wynne (Westport, Conn.) finished 22nd in the semifinal rounds of the 1500m, crossing in a time of 3:50.91. He will earn honorable mention All-America honors after advancing to Eugene for the first time in his career.
Kyle Smith (Leola, Pa.) concluded his collegiate career with a 23rd place finish in the men’s javelin with a mark of 64.33m (211-0). The Virginia law student finishes his one season competing for the Cavaliers ranked fifth in school history in the event.
After six of the 21 events scored, Virginia is in 31st place with two points.
“It was a disappointing first day of competition,” said head coach Bryan Fetzer. “The individuals who do great at this meet are the ones who rise to the occasion. This is the NCAA Championship, one of the hardest meets in the world, and if you don’t bring your `A’ game, it is tough. If you don’t come close to a lifetime best in this meet, you probably aren’t going to do well. The good thing for Filip and Jordan is they have the discus in two days. If they perform well they can cap a really good season on a high note.”
The meet continues Thursday with the opening day of the women’s championship. Two Cavaliers will be in action as Jordan Lavender (Nashville, Tenn.) will run in the 400m semifinals and Christine Bohan (Avon Lake, Ohio) will compete in the women’s shot put.
Mihaljevic and Young will be in action again on Friday in the discus competition. They are joined on the final day of the men’s championship by Ryan Satchell (Central Islip, N.Y.), who will compete in the triple jump.