CLEMSON, S.C. & LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Virginia men’s and women’s track and field teams saw several personal, season and top-five all-time best performances Saturday while competing in meets at Clemson and Liberty.

UVA redshirt freshman thrower Jacob Lemon (Sanibel, Fla.) set a personal best mark in the weight throw at Clemson’s Tiger Paw Invitational. He started the competition by throwing a personal best distance of 19.45 meters but bettered that on his second attempt (19.47m) and again on his final throw to finish the competition seventh at 19.73m (64’-8.75”). That moved him up to fourth place on the UVA all-time performance list and second on the freshman record list for the event.

Triple jumper Owayne Owens (Montego Bay, Jamaica) was second overall and the top collegiate finisher in the triple jump with a best leap of 16.04m (52’-7.5”). Alphonso Jordan of Team USA was the only competitor in the field to best Owens.

Sprinter Halle Hazzard (Commack, N.Y.) matched her personal best in the 200 meters with a time of 23.79. That ranks second on the Cavaliers’ all-time performance list.

Triple jumper Zoe Rice (Ashburn, Va.) joined UVA’s all-time performance list for that event when she hit a personal-best mark of 12.47m (40’-11”) on her last attempt of the day.

At Liberty’s Darius Dixon Memorial Invite, freshman Keara Seasholtz (Wayne, Pa.) placed second in the 800 meters with a time of 2:08.43 that figures fifth all-time at UVA. Her effort was the third best performance by a Virginia freshman. Graduate student Michaela Meyer (Southbury, Conn.), who transferred to UVA from Delaware, won the race as an unattached competitor. She had a time of 2:05.46.

Virginia will return to Clemson in two weeks to compete at the ACC Championships (Feb. 25-27).

Other Notable Performances

  • Rebecca Hawkins (London, England) placed fifth in the high jump with a best clearance of 1.72m (5’-5.75”).
  • Kayla Bonnick (St. Catherine, Jamaica) recorded a season best in the 200m (24.66).
  • In the 200m, Jordan Willis (Williamsburg, Va.) posted a SB of 21.55.
  • Nigal Davis (Martinsville, Va.) clocked a PB (22.44) in the 200m race at Liberty’s Darius Dixon Memorial Invite.

Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Vin Lananna on the Hoos

“The men’s and women’s teams both enjoyed a great weekend. At Liberty, Keara Seasholtz ran the number-five time at 800 meters in UVA history. The bulk of our team were able to experience the site of this year’s ACC Championship at Clemson. There were outstanding performances by our jumpers and sprinters like Halle Hazzard, Jada Seaman, Owayne Owens and Jordan Willis. The big throws by Jacob Lemmon helped to set the table for the ACC competition. With one week left, our goal will be to remain healthy as the championship season commences.”

Next Up

The Cavaliers will split the squad again next week for a final tune-up before the ACC Championships. UVA will send representatives to Winston-Salem, N.C. for the JDL DMR Invitational and to Blacksburg for the Virginia Tech Challenge. Both meets will take place on Friday and Sunday (Feb. 19-20).