RALEIGH, N.C. – The second day of the ACC Outdoor Track and Field Championships saw Virginia win its third individual title when sophomore Owayne Owens captured the triple jump crown. The UVA men ended day two of the meet in third place with 36 points while the Cavalier women are in sixth place with 31 points in a field where event-leading Notre Dame is just eight points ahead of them.
Sitting in third place after the three preliminary round jumps, Owens took the lead during his first attempt of the finals, going 15.86 meters. On his next attempt, he improved his mark to 15.97 meters and that was good enough to win the title. It was Owens’ second ACC crown. He also won the triple jump at this year’s ACC Indoor Championships.
Distance runner Michaela Meyer had a stellar race in posting the best time in the 800-meter prelims. The UVA graduate student set a facility record at NC State’s Paul Derr Track Facility with a finish of 2:01.89. She will race for the 1500 and 800 championships on Saturday.
A total of six Cavaliers earned second-team All-ACC honors (places fourth through sixth) with their event finishes on Friday.
For the women’s team, junior Alix Still placed sixth in the heptathlon, and freshman Maria Deaviz finished fourth (16.42m / 53’ 10.5”) in the women’s shot put. Senior Khyasia Caldwell was sixth in the triple jump (12.81 meters / 42’ 0.5”) and senior Kiera Bothwell had the same finish in the 3000-meter steeplechase. She had a personal best time of 10:03.88 that ranks fourth all-time at UVA.
On the men’s side, freshman Claudio Romero was sixth in the men’s shot put (18.10m / 59’ 4.75”) while first-year Derek Johnson placed fourth in the 3000-meter steeplechase to close the day’s competition. His time of 8:36.86 ranks second on the school’s all-time performance list for the race.
During the day’s prelim rounds, multiple UVA competitors advanced to Saturday’s finals.
UVA placed two into the men’s 400-meter final when seniors Jordan Willis (47.01) and Brandon Outlaw (46.20) both won their heats. Outlaw’s time was a personal best. Freshman Kayla Bonnick advanced in the 100-meter dash with a personal best time of 11.53.
Graduate student Andrenette Knight qualified for the 100-meter hurdles finals after having the fifth-best prelim time (13.33), also a personal best mark. She will also defend her title in the 400-meter hurdles finals on Saturday.
UVA also placed two finalists in the men’s 1500 meters. Freshman Conor Murphy advanced with a time of 1:50.03 and graduate student Randy Neish qualified with a time of 1:50.92 despite taking a tumble at the finish line.
Saturday’s final day of competition gets underway at 2 p.m. The event is being streamed on ACC Network Extra.