UVA to Begin Action at NCAA East Preliminaries Thursday

Story Links

May 25, 2016

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.-The No. 6 Virginia men’s track and field team and Cavalier women open action at the NCAA East Preliminaries Thursday (May 26) at Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The meet runs through Saturday (May 28).

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. The Cavaliers will have 12 men and 13 women competing at the preliminary meet.

Live results will be available at VirginiaSports.com.

The Cavalier men are ranked No. 6 in the latest FloTrack national poll and No. 11 in the most recent USTFCCCA national rankings.

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).

Mike Marsella (1,500m – No. 25) will also make his 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). A 13th male Cavalier, Nathan Kiley, qualified in the 800 meters, but will not compete due to injury.

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.