Records Fall in Final Day of ACC Championships
May 12, 2018
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CORAL GABLES, Fla. –Junior Kelly McKee (Lenexa, Kan.) broke an 11-year old school record in the triple jump to lead the Virginia women’s track and field team to a sixth-place finish at the ACC Outdoor Championships at Cobb Stadium on Saturday (May 12).
“She had a great weekend,” director of track and field Bryan Fetzer said. “She is starting to establish herself as one of the top all-around jumpers in the country and there is more left.”
McKee set the record on her fifth jump of the afternoon, soaring 13.25m (43’5.75″) to finish second in the triple jump. She also picked up first-team All-ACC honors.
“Kelly culminated a great weekend with a school record in the triple jump today,” assistant coach Mario Wilson said. “She got better throughout the competition and ended with her best series of jumps ever. I am so proud of what she has accomplished.”
Sophomore Andrenette Knight (Morant Bay, Jamaica) clocked in with the fifth-fastest time in program history in the 400m hurdles. Her time of 57.95 earned her bronze and a first-team All-ACC selection. The mark also ranks as the 12th-fastest in the east qualifying region this season.
Anna Jefferson (Warren, Mich.) lowered her personal best in the 400m preliminaries by over a full second in the finals. The sophomore finished third in an extremely fast final, running a time of 52.39 to post the second-fastest time in Virginia history.
In the 100m hurdles, junior Ciara Leonard (Elkins Park, Pa.) ran a wind-assisted personal-best time of 13.13 to finish fourth. Sophomore Alexis Woodley (Chesapeake, Va.) came across the finish line in a time of 13.32 to place sixth. Both Leonard and Woodley earned second-team All-ACC honors.
In the final event of the evening, the 4x400m relay team placed sixth. The Cavalier team of Knight, Jefferson, junior Alana Herran (Orange, N.J.) and senior Kiana Hairston (Manassas, Va.), respectively, posted a season-best time of 3:40.02 to score a pair of points.
“The analogy that a track meet is like life could not embody the meet anymore,” Fetzer said. “We had both good and disappointing events with emotional ups and downs this week. We have made some significant progress this year so far in a lot of areas, but still have to make a few adjustments to put ourselves in a position to contend. It’s coming.
“We are not close to being done with the season. We have one of the largest contingents going to the NCAA First and Second Rounds in two weeks with the opportunity to advance in our form of March Madness.”
Virginia tallied 63 points over the three days to earn sixth in the championships. Miami captured the ACC title, recording 117 points.
The meet also signified the women’s track and field matchup between Virginia and Virginia Tech in the Commonwealth Clash, sponsored by Virginia529, the official college savings plan of the University of Virginia Athletics. Visit TheCommonwealthClash.com for more information and the overall score. Virginia529 is the official college savings plan of the University of Virginia Athletics.
The Cavaliers will return to action on May 24 at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds. The three-day meet will be held in Tampa, Fla.