Cavaliers Close Out Liberty Kickoff

LYNCHBURG, Va. — The Virginia men’s and women’s track and field program closed out competition at the opening meet of the 2024 indoor season Friday (Dec. 1) at the Liberty Kickoff where the Cavaliers totaled nine event wins at the Liberty Indoor Track & Field Complex.

Sprinters Impress Over 60-Meters

The Cavaliers put a total of eight runners in the finals of the men’s and women’s 60-meter dash and the 60-meter hurdles.

• Jeremiah Wilson posted the fastest qualifying time in the men’s 60-meter hurdles running a personal best of 8.02. Wilson was followed by Peter Djan, Ethan Robinson and freshman Gage Gose who all advanced to the finals.
• Virginia went 1-2 in the finals of the men’s 60-meter hurdles with Robinson taking the win with a personal best of 7.97. Wilson followed in second while Djan placed fourth and Gose placed eighth.
• Djan went on to make the finals in the men’s 60-meter dash placing seventh.
• Three Cavalier women advanced in the 60-meter dash. It was a UVA sweep in the finals with Sarah Akpan taking the win while Kayla Bonnick and Lola Kolawole finished second and third.

UVA Leads the Way in Middle Distance Events

• In the men’s 1000 meters, it was Alex Leath the took an early advantage and powered his way to a victory in his collegiate debut. Myles Plummer recorded a third-place finish.
• In the women’s 1000-meter race it was Maggie Hock who took home a victory in her Virginia debut clocking 2:50.82. Ellie Desmond was the next to cross the line for UVA placing fourth.
• Alahna Sabbakhan logged another win for the Cavaliers in the women’s 800 meters.
• In the men’s 3000 meters, Andrew Jones placed second with his time of 8:07.16.

Sprint Success Continues

• Jaden Lyons picked up a win in the men’s 400 meters. Alex Sherman and Evans White IV followed in third and fourth place respectively.
• Anzhelika Parenchuk breezed to a win in the women’s 400 clocking 55.69.
• In the men’s 200 meters, Jay Pendarvis, Alex Sherman Jaden Lyons and Evans White IV went 2-3-4-5.
• The Cavalier women went 1-2-3 in the finals of the 200 meters. Sarah Akpan took the win while Lola Kolawole and Kayla Bonnick recorded second and third-place finishes respectively.

Sullivan Wins Heptathlon

• Henry Sullivan sat in fifth place with 2,622 points through four events on the opening day of competition. Sullivan had an excellent closing day of competition to total 4,912 points and secure the victory. His total ranks ninth all-time at Virginia.
• Sullivan’s best performance of the competition came in the 60-meter hurdles where he took 898 points while hitting a time of 8.34. He went on to record a personal-best in the pole vault clearing 4.45 meters (14’ 7.25”) before closing with a 3:01.92 time in the 1000 meters.
• Luke Smith placed fifth in the competition with his total of 4,387 points.

Up Next:
Virginia’s Margot Appleton, Conor Murphy and Yasin Sado will open their seasons at the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener in Boston, Mass. beginning at 1:55 p.m.