No. 23 UVA Men Finish Third at ACC Indoor Championships
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Feb. 27, 2016
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BOSTON–The No. 23 Virginia men’s track and field team placed third at the ACC Indoor Track and Field Championships Saturday (Feb. 27) at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Boston.
The Cavaliers placed third with 64 points, behind Syracuse (88) and Clemson (76.50).
“When you come in with the expectation to challenge for the team win and do not accomplish that, it can be disappointing, but there are plenty of positives that we can take from this weekend as we build toward the outdoor season,” UVA director of track and field/cross country Bryan Fetzer said.
“Our team responded incredibly well to adversities we experienced throughout the meet, including injuries and some placings that we didn’t anticipate. We are young as a team, but we had great leadership, including a great pre-meet speech from Zach Herriott this morning that really made our guys think and put things in perspective.”
Junior Henry Wynne (Westport, Conn.) won the men’s mile in a time of 4:01.15. It is Wynne’s second ACC title of the weekend (third overall), after anchoring the DMR to a win on Thursday. Also in the event, freshman Robby Keough (Atlanta, Ga.) placed 10th in 4:09.48 after pacing the field out in front for the first half of the race.
Wynne followed that up with a second-place finish in the 3,000 meters in 8:03.34, while senior Adam Visokay (Ruckersville, Va.) placed third in 8:04.13. Senior Evan Chiplock (Saginaw, Mich.) was 14th in 8:11.25, while sophomore Brent Demarest (Charleston, S.C.) and redshirt freshman Chase Weaverling (Darnestown, Md.) were 24th and 28th, respectively.
“Henry was committed to the team today,” UVA distance coach Pete Watson said. “A win in the mile today really was something we had been talking about for the last year. Henry is a competitor and had a big 3,000m finishing second and getting us eight big team points. I’m very proud of this young man. Also, Adam ran the most aggressive race of his career and almost stole it.”
In the shot put, redshirt sophomore Filip Mihaljevic (Livno, Bosnia and Herzegovina) defended his ACC indoor title with a throw of 20.04m (65′ 9″) on his final attempt. It is Mihaljevic’s fifth ACC title after winning the shot put at the 2015 ACC indoor and outdoor meets and the discus at the 2014 and 2015 outdoor conference meet.
“In a competition like this, it is all about winning,” Fetzer said. “When you are a clear-cut favorite, sometimes it makes it a little harder to get up emotionally, but Filip did a good job of knowing that team points were on the line and he took care of business. That shows a lot of maturity.”
Redshirt freshman Oghenkpobo Efekoro (Brooklyn, N.Y.) placed third with a heave of 18.79m (61′ 7.75″) on his final attempt.
In the triple jump, redshirt junior Aaron Worrell (Fort Eustis, Va.) finished fifth with a mark of 15.36m (50′ 4.75″).
The 4×400-meter relay of freshmen Charles Bowman (Harrisburg, Pa.) and Devin Barnes (Henrico, Va.), sophomore Logan Carrington (Leesburg, Va.) and freshman Jake Dixon (Falmouth, Maine) placed seventh in 3:16.31.
Redshirt sophomore Jeff Jernigan (DeKalb, Ga.) matched a personal best with a height of 4.77m (15′ 7.75″) to finish 12th.
The meet also signified the men’s indoor track and field matchup between Virginia and Virginia Tech in the Commonwealth Clash, sponsored by Virginia529, the official college savings plan of University of Virginia Athletics. By way of finishing higher in the team standings, UVA earned one point in the Virginia529 Commonwealth Clash, the point rivalry series between UVA and Virginia Tech. Virginia now leads the 2015-16 Commonwealth Clash, 7-3.5. Learn more about Virginia529 and this competition at thecommonwealthclash.com.