Virginia Opens Season with First-Place Finish from Shirley

Jan. 19, 2018

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Results

IOWA CITY, Iowa- The No. 16 Virginia men’s track and field team finished the first day of competition at the Larry Wieczorek Invitational on Friday (Jan. 19) at the UI Recreation building in Iowa City, Iowa.

“It looked a lot like the first meet of the year,” director of Track and Field Bryan Fetzer said. “The majority of the men that competed today were young. It was a great opportunity for teaching. This is so much more than just running and jumping. It’s learning to do the little things.”

The Cavaliers captured the top two times in the men’s 600m dash with freshman Alfred Shirley III (Chesapeake, Va.) and Brandon Outlaw (Moorestown, N.J) finishing first and second, respectively. Shirley recorded a time of 1:19.99, while Outlaw recorded a time of 1:20.28. Junior Jake Dixon (Falmouth, Maine) finished eighth in the event with a time of 1:25.29.

Redshirt sophomore Sam Young (Lewes, Del.) finished fourth in the pole vault, clearing a height of 4.90m (16’0.75″), while sophomore Jack Claiborne (Johannesburg, South Africa) finished eighth with a mark of 1.90m (6’2.75″) in the high jump.

Freshman Ryan Buscaglia (Richmond, Va.) rounded out the day finishing seventh in the 1000m with a time of 2:32.84.

Graduate-student Willem Geuskens (Antwerp, Belgium) competed in the opening three events of the heptathlon, pulling out of the event in a predetermined decision.

The Cavaliers will conclude the Larry Wieczorek Invitational tomorrow. The meet will begin at 2 p.m.