Barron Places Third in Long Jump at ACC Championships
Feb. 23, 2018
Clemson, S.C. – Junior Mia Barron (Minnetonka, Minn.) earned a podium appearance for her third-place finish in the long jump to highlight the second day of the ACC Indoor Championships for the UVA women’s track and field team. Barron led a significant contingent of Cavaliers who set personal or school best marks during the day.
Barron picked up her bronze medal by jumping 6.09 meters (19’11″3/4), which tied for the eighth-best performance in school history and was her best effort as a collegiate. She helped UVA end Friday in seventh place with 15.5 points. Louisville leads the field with 58 points followed by North Carolina with 43.
“Mia competed with the poise of a veteran today,” said Mario Wilson, UVA’s assistant coach for jumps. “She knew that anyone was capable of winning and she was only a couple of inches from pulling out the victory. To hit an indoor PR, and earn All-ACC honors, is the result of her focus and dedication.”
“This group has come to prove something,” said UVA head coach Bryan Fetzer. “It started today. It is a foreshadowing of things to come. When you produce your best ever performance, how can you ask for more than that? I’m very excited to finish strong tomorrow.”
Sophomore Alexis Woodley (Chesapeake, Va.) set the UVA school record in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.37 seconds to place 10th in the event. Junior Ciara Leonard (Elkins Park, Pa.) equaled her personal best time in the event placing 12th at 8.38 seconds.
Sophomore Anna Jefferson (Warren, Mich.) had a stellar day. In the 400 meters, she clocked a personal best time of 53.42 seconds that figured as the second-best time of the day and the second-best time in UVA history and it earned her a spot into Saturday’s finals. Later in the meet, she bettered her top mark in the 200 meters by running 24.04, which proved to be the fourth best all-time mark at UVA.
In the 400 meters, teammate Alana Herran (Orange, N.J.) posted a personal best with a time of 56.23 seconds.
“Coach (Michelle) Freeman has done a great job with the group,” Fetzer said. “They are really starting to put things together. It will only continue to get better in the future. The entire group equaled or ran lifetime bests. That says it all.”
Junior Bridget Guy (Greensburg, Pa.) picked up points for UVA with a seventh-place finish in the pole vault. She topped out at 4.15m (13’7″1/4). Senior Katie Freix (Chantilly, Va.) turned in a personal best performance in the event, finishing at a height of 3.95m (12’11″1/2) to place 13th.
In the weight throw competition, first year Brittany Jones (Bloomfield, Conn.) recorded a freshman record with a mark of 16.24m (54’4″3/4). That ranks as the ninth best performance in UVA history.
The Hoos ended the day on a high note when freshman high jumper Gabrielle Hayes (Woodbridge, Va.) tied for sixth place with a personal best clearance of 1.69m (5’6″1/2). Junior Carly Feyerabend (Mechanicsville, Va.) was tied for ninth at 1.64m (5’4″1/2).
Saturday’s final day of competition gets underway at 10:30 a.m. ACC Network Extra will broadcast events beginning at noon. Links to the broadcast and to live results are available on VirginiaSports.com.
The ACC Championships serve as the men’s and women’s matchup between Virginia and Virginia Tech in the Commonwealth Clash. The Commonwealth Clash presented by Virginia529 is a head-to-head, points-based competition between the athletic teams at University of Virginia and Virginia Tech. The Commonwealth Clash encourages a friendly, statewide rivalry between the two schools across all school-sponsored sports with 21 individual event points on the line. The school that accumulates 11 points or more will be crowned the winner and take home the Virginia529 Commonwealth Clash trophy. Visit www.TheCommonwealthClash.com for more information and updated standings.