Wynne and Marsella Move on to NCAA 1,500m Quarterfinals

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May 26, 2016

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla.-The No. 6 Virginia men’s track and field team had two student-athletes move on to the quarterfinals as the Cavaliers finished action on the first day of the NCAA East Preliminaries Thursday (May 26) at Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla.

At the preliminary meet, each individual event (excluding the heptathlon and decathlon) has 48 competitors, while relays 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.

Juniors Henry Wynne (Westport, Conn.) and Mike Marsella (Hope Valley, R.I.) went 1-2 in their heat of the 1,500 meters to qualify for Saturday’s quarterfinals. Wynne won in a time of 3:44.53, while Marsella’s time was 3:44.84.

“The boys ran very nice, tactical races,” UVA distance coach Pete Watson said. “Mike stayed patient and followed Henry around and looked great finishing. Henry again ran a great race, controlling it from the front. This is just about surviving to the next round and both boys did, so I’m happy.”

Junior Adam Visokay (Ruckersville, Va.) placed 15th in the men’s 10,000 meters in 30:15.22, missing out on the national meet by three places. Sophomore Brent Demarest (Charleston, S.C.) was 34th in 31:04.44.

In the hammer throw, freshman Hilmar Jonsson (Reykjavik, Iceland) fouled three times and did not qualify for Eugene.

The meet continues Friday at noon and continues through Saturday. The Cavaliers will have juniors Filip Mihaljevic (Livno, Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Jordan Young (Windsor, Ontario) in the discus and graduate student William Gray (Birmingham, England) in the 3,000m steeplechase.