Jonsson's Silver Leads UVA on Day Two of ACC Championships
Feb. 23, 2018
Clemson, S.C. – A silver medal finish by junior Hilmar Orn Jonsson (Reykjavik, Iceland) in the weight throw highlighted the second day of competition for Virginia at the 2018 ACC Indoor Track & Field Championships at Clemson. The Cavaliers smashed a number of personal bests and set several school records during the course of the action.
UVA stands in seventh place in the team results with 17 points heading into Saturday’s final day of competition. Florida State leads the field with 43 points while Louisville is second with 35 points.
The Cavaliers had hoped for a more productive day but came away with no points in the evening-ending 5,000-meter race with five competitors in the field.
“The day started very positive but did not end that way,” said UVA head coach Bryan Fetzer. “In an all-or-nothing championship like track and field, you have to be at your best a specific day. If you are not, in a league like the ACC, there will be problems. We need to collectively refocus and come back tomorrow with something to prove. There are a lot of amazing performances left to take place for the Hoos.”
Jonsson recorded a throw of 21.04m (69’1/2″) to take runner-up honors and pick up first-team All-ACC accolades. Teammate Oghenakpobo Efekoro (Brooklyn, N.Y.) posted a personal best throw of 19.9m (65’3 1/2′) to finish fifth and earn second-team All-ACC status.
“Hilmar and Pobo put on an incredible show today,” said UVA throws coach Martin Maric. “They started with few safe throws as we planned in order to secure top nine positions in the finals. Pobo started flaming embers in the second round with a huge personal record and Hilmar added to the fire with his second-best throw of all time in the fifth round to secure second place. It was a true spectacle.”
The 400 meters proved to be another highlight for UVA. Freshman Brandon Outlaw (Moorestown, N.J.) set a school record with a time of 47.31 seconds and enters Saturday’s final with the fourth best time at the meet. That result is the third best all-time mark in UVA history. Fellow first-year Alfred Shirley (Chesapeake, Va.) also set a personal best in the event, finishing 12th overall with a time of 47.53.
Senior Mike Marsella (Hope Valley, R.I.) advanced to the finals in the men’s mile after turning in the third best prelim time at 4:05.68. He’ll be joined in the finals by sophomore Spencer Dodds (Temecula, Calif.) who won his heat with a time of 4:11.79. Kenneth Hagen (Blacksburg, Va.), who did not advance to the finals, set a personal best with a time of 4:09.82.
“Brandon & Spencer competed great,” Fetzer said. “I’m sure not very many outsiders expected them to advance to the finals.” In the 60-meter hurdles, junior Emmanuel Jackson (Raleigh, N.C.) bettered his top mark with a performance of 8.05 seconds.
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.