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Anumba and Appleton Qualify for NCAA Championships

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Virginia women’s track & field team concluded its competition at the NCAA East Regional Preliminaries Saturday (May 27) at Hodges Stadium as Ashley Anumba Margot Appleton each secured their place at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Anumba Headed Back to NCAAs:
Virginia discus thrower Ashley Anumba became the third Cavalier to punch her ticket on the women’s side as she qualifies in the discus for the second consecutive season hitting a mark of 55.22 meters (181’2”).

  • Anumba posted the fifth-best qualifying mark with her third throw of the competition
  • Anumba’s qualification comes in the midst of an impressive season in which she set the Virginia discus record (60.97m 200’0”) and won silver at the ACC Championships
  • She becomes just the second Cavalier on the women’s side to qualify for the NCAA Championships in the discus in consecutive years
  • In 2022, Anumba earned second-team All-American honors thanks to a 15th-place finish at the championship meet


Janae Profit turned in an impressive performance competing at the NCAA East Preliminary round for the first time. Profit tossed a personal best in the discus reaching 52.45 meters (172’1”) to place 13th in the competition missing the final qualifying position by less than a foot. Profit also competed in the shot put on Thursday.

Appleton Through in the 1500:
Margot Appleton assured her place at the NCAA Championships as she raced to a third-place finish in her heat clocking a time of 4:14.54.

  • After advancing to the quarterfinals for the first time in her career, Appleton made the most of her opportunity running a well-executed race to secure the third of five automatic qualifying places
  • The performance marks the first time Appleton has qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships, but the sophomore is set to make her third appearance at an NCAA Championship meet during the 2022-23 athletic season
  • She earned first-team All-American honors in the mile at the indoor championships in February. In November, she helped secure Virginia’s first top-10 finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships since the 2013 season
  • In the midst of a strong 1500 campaign, Appleton has run a personal-best 4:08.96 and won her first ACC title over the course of the outdoor season


An excellent season in the 1500 meters comes to an end for Anna Workman who put on a pair of impressive performances in the qualifiers. Workman advanced to the quarterfinals on Thursday (May 25) running a personal-best time of 4:18.82. In the quarterfinals, she bettered her time once more posting 4:14.65 – just .37 seconds off the final time qualifier for the NCAA Championships. Workman now ranks seventh all-time at Virginia in the 1500m.

From Director of Track & Field Vin Lananna: 
“Our women delivered excellent performances this week. I am very proud of Sophie Atkinson, Ashley Anumba, Margot Appleton and Alix Still who will all advance to represent the University of Virginia in a variety of event areas at the NCAA Championships in a few weeks.”

Up Next:

Virginia’s nine individual qualifiers between the men and women will compete at the NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas from June 7-10

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