Three Cavaliers Pick Up Wins on Opening Day of Doc Hale VT Elite
BLACKSBURG, Va. – The Virginia men’s and women’s track and field teams opened competition at the Doc Hale Virginia Tech Elite meet where Kayla Bonnick, Jada Seaman and Alahna Sabbakhan all picked up wins on Friday night (Feb. 3) at Rector Field House.
Sabbakhan started the day for Virginia with a victory in the 800 meters while teammate Keara Seasholtz was not far behind as she placed third in the event. On the men’s side, Myles Plummer competed in the 800 meters for the first time in his collegiate career finishing fifth overall.
After taking home a victory at the Penn State National, Jada Seaman made it two in a row as she placed first in the long jump. Teammate Jordan Hardy took fifth in the event clearing a personal-best mark of 5.90 meters (19’4.25”).
Kayla Bonnick darted to a victory of her own in the 60-meter dash. The junior matched her season-best time of 7.46 seconds while Jada Pierre posted a personal best of 7.54 seconds as she placed third. Sarah Akpan finished sixth in the event recording a time of 7.59 seconds.
In the women’s 60-meter hurdles, Alix Still ran a personal-best time of 8.53 in qualifying to book her place in the finals and move her into fifth on the Virginia all-time performance list. However, she didn’t stop there. In the finals Still took seventh place and clocked another personal-best running 8.46 seconds which moved her up one more spot into fourth in UVA history.
In the women’s pole vault, Sam Romano took second place clearing a mark of 3.95 meters (12’11.5”). Romano’s mark pushes her into seventh all-time in Virginia history and ranks fourth all-time among Virginia freshmen. Teammate Maya Maloney placed fourth clearing 3.70 meters (12’1.5”).
In the men’s weight throw, John Fay threw for a personal-best mark of 19.16 meters (62’10.5”). Fay’s mark ranks seventh all-time in at Virginia.
Heldi Valikaj leaped 7.11 meters (23’4”) as he placed sixth in the men’s long jump competition.
Up Next:
The Cavaliers will be back in action tomorrow (Feb. 4) as Virginia finishes competition at the Doc Hale Virginia Tech Elite meet while Esther Seeland, Nathan Mountain, Margot Appleton and Yasin Sado travel to Winston-Salem, N.C. to compete at the JDL Camel City Invitational.