No. 21 Virginia Captures Two First-Place Finishes
Jan. 27, 2018
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LYNCHBURG, Va.- Two Cavaliers captured a first-place finish on Saturday (Jan. 27) as the No. 21 Virginia men’s track and field team completed the second day of competition at the Liberty Kickoff at the Liberty Indoor Track Complex in Lynchburg, Va.
Sophomore AJ Ernst (Marblehead, Mass.) led the Cavaliers in the 3000m run, finishing first in the event with a time of 8:22.46, while redshirt junior Oghenakpobo Efekoro (Brooklyn, N.Y.) topped the shot put with a mark of 18.16m (59’7″).
“We continue to make improvements and progress,” director of track and field Bryan Fetzer said. “The goal is to get better every day and every meet throughout the indoor season. Next week will be an opportunity to continue to build against some amazing competition and we will continue to build each week until the ACC and NCAA championships.”
Rounding out the 3000m run, redshirt sophomore Johnny Pace (Chantilly, Va.) finished third in the event with a time of 8:32.34, while sophomore Thomas Amabile (Chesapeake, Va.) finished sixth with a time of 8:27.03 and sophomore Sam Teller (Westerville, Ohio) finished eighth with a time of 8:39.95.
Junior Nace Plesko (Ljubljana, Slovenia) finished fourth in the shot put with a mark of 16.76m (55’0″).
Three Virginia freshman placed in the top-10 of the 500m dash as Alfred Shirley III (Chesapeake, Va.) paced the team with a second-place finish, recording a time of 1:03.05. Brandon Outlaw (Moorestown, N.J.) finished fourth with a time of 1:05.13, while Jordan Willis (Williamsburg, Va.) finished ninth with a time of 1:06.31.
Redshirt sophomore Sam Young (Lewes, Del.) captured a sixth-place finish in the pole vault, clearing a height of 4.65m (15-3.0).
Graduate student Mike Marsella (Hope Valley, R.I.) placed fourth in the 1000m, while junior Emmanuel Jackson (Raleigh, N.C.) finished seventh in the 60m hurdles. Marsella recorded a time of 2:24.30 as Jackson finished with a time of 8.25.
The Cavaliers will return to action next February 2 for the Power 5 Invite in Ann Arbor, Mich.