Virginia Qualifies 26 For NCAA East Preliminaries

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May 19, 2016

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.-The No. 5 Virginia men’s track and field team and Cavalier women have qualified 26 student-athletes, 13 men and 13 women, for the NCAA East Preliminaries, to be held May 26-28 at Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla.

Each individual event (excluding the heptathlon and decathlon) will have 48 competitors, while relays will have 24 teams. The top 12 from every event will move on to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, to be held in Eugene, Ore., on June 8-11.

Representing the Cavaliers will be five student-athletes who have advanced on to the NCAA Championships in their careers, including Christine Bohan (women’s shot put – seeded No. 9), Filip Mihaljevic (men’s discus – No. 2, shot put – No. 3), Adam Visokay (men’s 10,000m – No. 18), Henry Wynne (men’s 1,500m – No. 1, men’s 5,000m – No. 7) and Jordan Young (men’s discus – No. 12).

Two men, Nathan Kiley (800m – No. 43) and Mike Marsella (1,500m – No. 25), will also make their return to the NCAA East Preliminaries. Seven UVA men will make their first appearance, including Evan Chiplock (5,000m – No. 46), Brent Demarest (10,000m – No. 23), Ogheankpobo Efekoro (shot put – No. 5), William Gray (3,000m steeplechase – No. 8), Hilmar Jonsson (hammer throw – No. 2), Matthew Novak (1,500m – No. 45) and Aaron Worrell (triple jump – No. 16).

Other women making a return to the preliminary rounds include Cleo Boyd (10,000 m – No. 29), Peyton Chaney (100m – No. 34, 200m – No. 30, 4x400m relay – No. 21), Chimere Ezumah (4x400m relay – No. 21), Iona Lake (3,000m steeplechase – No. 14), Bridget Guy (pole vault – No. 15), Heather Smith (400m hurdles – No. 22) and Andrea Wright (4x400m relay – No. 21). Five Cavalier women who are making their NCAA preliminary debut are Mia Barron (long jump – No. 24), Carter Green (discus – No. 34), Emily Mulhern (5,000m – No. 34), Aisha Naibe-Wey (400m hurdles – No. 17, 4x400m relay – No. 21) and Megan Rebholz (5,000m – No. 38).

Mihaljevic was third in the men’s discus and ninth in the shot put at last year’s NCAA Championships. Mihaljevic was the 2016 NCAA indoor runner-up in the shot put and was named the ACC Outdoor Championships Men’s Field Most Valuable Performer after winning the shot put and discus last weekend in Tallahassee, Fla.

Wynne was the NCAA indoor champion in the mile in March and captured the ACC outdoor title in the 1,500m last weekend.

Young placed sixth in the men’s discus, seventh in the hammer throw and 10th in the shot put in 2015, while Bohan and Visokay earned honorable mention All-America honors in the 2015 women’s shot put and 2014 men’s 10,000m, respectively.

UVA Qualifiers for NCAA East Preliminaries
Men
Evan Chiplock, Sr., Saginaw, Mich. – 5,000 meters
Brent Demarest, So., Charleston, S.C. – 10,000 meters
Oghenakpobo Efekoro, R-Fr., Brooklyn, N.Y. – shot put
William Gray, Gr., Birmingham, England – 3,000m steeplechase
Hilmar Jonsson, Fr., Reykjavik, Iceland – hammer throw
Nathan Kiley, Jr., Chantilly, Va. – 800 meters
Mike Marsella, Jr., Hope Valley, R.I. – 1,500 meters
Filip Mihaljevic, Jr., Livno, Bosnia and Herzegovina – discus and shot put
Matthew Novak, Fr., Glen Allen, Va. – 1,500 meters
Adam Visokay, Jr., Ruckersville, Va. – 10,000 meters
Aaron Worrell, R-So., Fort Eustis, Va. – triple jump
Jordan Young, Jr., Windsor, Ontario – discus

Women
Mia Barron, R-Fr., Minnetonka, Minn. – long jump
Christine Bohan, Jr., Avon Lake, Ohio – shot put
Cleo Boyd, Jr., Kingston, Ontario – 10,000 meters
Peyton Chaney, Sr., Belleville, Ill. – 100 meters, 200 meters and 4x400m relay
Chimere Ezumah, Jr., Gardena, Calif. – 4x400m relay
Carter Green, So., Ashland, Pa. – discus
Bridget Guy, So., Greensburg, Pa. – pole vault
Iona Lake, Gr., Norwich, England – 3,000m steeplechase
Emily Mulhern, Fr., Ijamsville, Md. – 5,000 meters
Aisha Naibe-Wey, Gr., London, England – 400m hurdles and 4x400m relay
Megan Rebholz, So., Stafford, Va. – 5,000 meters
Heather Smith, Jr., Chesapeake, Va. – 400m hurdles
Andrea Wright, Jr., Chesapeake, Va. – 4x400m relay