Men's Throwers Shine at Doc Hale Elite Meet

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Feb. 5, 2016

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BLACKSBURG, Va.-Strong performances in the weight throw highlighted the No. 18 Virginia men’s track and field team’s Friday (Feb. 5) action at the Doc Hale Elite Meet at Rector Field House.

In the weight throw, freshman Hilmar Jonsson (Reykjavik, Iceland) placed sixth and broke the UVA freshman record with a throw of 20.25m (66′ 5.25″), which also ranks second on UVA’s all-time list. Redshirt freshman Oghenakpobo Efekoro (Brooklyn, N.Y.) finished 11th with a mark of 18.86m (61′ 10.5″), fourth on the UVA all-time list and second on the Cavalier freshman list.

Senior Christian Lavorgna (Jefferson, N.J.) placed second in the heptathlon with a score of 5,113, which ranks fourth on UVA’s all-time list. Redshirt sophomore Cam Collins (Calhoun, Ga.) finished fifth with a score of 4,845 that ranks sixth on UVa’s all-time list.

“Today Christian crossed a major threshold for every guy in the combined events,” UVA assistant coach Mario Wilson said. “5,000-plus points indoors is equivalent to 7,000-plus points in the decathlon. He is a steady and consistent competitor in an event that has the potential for a lot of variance. We are fortunate to have his presence on our team both athletically and in a leadership role. In addition, Cam get better every time he competes in the combined events.”

“Our combined student-athletes went 4-for-4 in PRs this weekend, which is exactly what you want,” UVA director of track and field/cross country Bryan Fetzer said. “They all have shown tremendous progress each week.”

In the long jump, redshirt freshman Jack Lint (Westerville, Ohio) finished 11th with a personal-record leap of 6.82m (22′ 4.5″), while freshman Charles Bowman (Harrisburg, Pa.) was 12th in the 60-meter hurdles in 8.28.

Freshman Devin Barnes (Henrico, Va.) finished eighth in the 800 meters with a time of 1:54.20. In the open 400 meters, freshman Jake Dixon (Falmouth, Maine) placed third with a time of 49.35, while Bowman was ninth in 49.79.

In the pole vault, redshirt sophomore Jeff Jernigan (DeKalb, Ga.) placed 12th with a mark of 4.70m (15′ 5″), while Lint was 13th with a PR of 4.55m (14′ 11″).

“I’m very excited on how we are continuing to build the performances each week,” Fetzer said. “It is starting to click across the board. We need to stay focused and continue to rally around each other.”

The action continues at 11 a.m. Saturday (Feb. 6).