Young Wins Second Weight Throw Title to Open ACC Indoors

Feb. 23, 2017

Charlottesville, Va. – Thanks to a solid performance in the men’s weight throw, the No. 15 Virginia men’s track and field team wrapped up the first day of competition at the ACC Indoor Championships in first place.

Senior Jordan Young (Windsor, Ontario) led Virginia during the opening day by winning his second title in the weight throw event. Young posted a throw of 22.42 meters (73-6.75) on his first throw during the prelims and that was good enough to earn him the Hoos’ first championship at the event. He also won the conference title in 2015.

Sophomore Hilmar Johsson (Reykjavik, Iceland) placed fourth with a mark of 20.59m (67-6.75) and junior Oghenakpobo Efekoro (Brooklyn, N.Y.) was ninth at 18.25m (59-10.5). Those three competitors combined to score 15 points in the single event.

The Cavaliers 15 points was four ahead of second-place Notre Dame while Florida State and Virginia Tech were tied for third with 10 points.

“It was nice to start the team off on the right foot and to have two other teammates in the finals with me for motivation,” Young said. “I’ve got a lot more in the tank. I hopefully have some bigger things coming at nationals.”

The men’s heptathlon got underway on Thursday and UVA sophomore Jack Lint (Westerville, Ohio) ended the day in first place with 3081 points thanks to a pair of personal best performances.

Lint posted a career best in the long jump with a mark of 7.04m (23-1.25) to finish second in that event and was also the runner-up behind teammate Cameron Collins in the shot put. Collins took first with a throw of 13.52m (44-4.5) while Lint went 13.23m (43-5). Lint was fifth in the high jump at 1.93m (6-4) and third in the 60 meters (7.13).

Lint entered this year’s championship with the top point total (5385) among ACC competitors.

The Cavaliers’ distance medley relay team of junior Kenneth Hagen (Blacksburg, Va.), sophomore Charles Bowman (Harrisburg, Pa.), Logan Carrington (Leesburg, Va.) and freshman A.J. Ernst (Marblehead, Mass.) finished ninth with a time of 9:49.09.

“After day one we are about where we thought we would be point wise,” said head coach Bryan Fetzer. “This meet is like a roller coaster. You go up and you go down. The only thing that is certain is that the meet will end on Saturday. Right now we’re up. We just have to focus on ourselves and not anyone else the next two days.”

The meet is taking place at Notre Dame’s Loftus Sports Center. The meet runs through Saturday (Feb. 25) with events starting at 11 a.m. each day.

ACC Network Extra will live stream action the final two days, with former Olympic decathlon gold medalist Dan O’Brien serving as color analyst, reprising the role he first filled at the 2015 ACC Outdoor Championships. He will be joined by veteran ESPN play-by-play announcer Shawn Kenney. Coverage will air from 3:30 p.m. through 7:30 p.m. on Friday and from noon until the meet’s conclusion (approximately 4 p.m.) on Saturday.

The meet also signifes the men’s and women’s track and field matchups between Virginia and Virginia Tech in the Commonwealth Clash, sponsored by Virginia529, the official college savings plan of University of Virginia Athletics. There are two points at stake in the Virginia529 Commonwealth Clash, the point rivalry series between UVA and Virginia Tech. The school that finishes higher in the meet on the men’s side will receive a point in the competition, as will the school that finishes higher on the women’s side. The current Commonwealth Clash is tied 5-5. Learn more about Virginia529 and this competition at thecommonwealthclash.com.