Cavaliers Travel to Penn State National Open Friday
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia men’s and women’s track and field teams are set to travel to State College, Pa. and compete at the highly competitive Penn State National Open at the Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Track on Friday (Jan. 26) and Saturday (Jan. 27). Following three early-season meets in December and January, the competition will serve as Virginia’s first true test of the season.
How to Follow:
The meet will be streamed on Big Ten Plus while live results will be available at PrimeTime Timing. Links to live streams and results will available at VirginiaSports.com. Live updates will also be posted to the team’s official Twitter account (@UVAtfcc).
Hoos in the Top-25
Virginia currently has six individuals (three men, three women) and two relay teams ranked in the nation’s top-25 in their respective events. At the end of the season, the top 16 individuals and 12 relay teams will advance to compete at the 2024 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships which will be held at the TRACK at new balance in Boston, Mass.
Men
| Rank | Name | Event | Time/Mark |
| No. 9 | Connor Murphy | 3000m | 7:53.17 |
| No. 17 | Yasin Sado | 5000m | 13:31.87* |
| No. 22 | John Fay | Weight Throw | 20.98m (68′ 10″) |
| No. 1 | Virginia | Distance Medley Relay | 9:48.76 |
*Virginia record
Women
| Rank | Name | Event | Time/Mark |
| No. 12 | Celia Rifaterra | High Jump | 1.84m (6′ 0.5″) |
| No. 17 | Margot Appleton | 3000m | 9:08.68 |
| No. 19 | Jordan Hardy | Triple Jump | 12.87m (42′ 2.75″) |
| No. 2 | Virginia | Distance Medley Relay | 11:32.41 |
Early Cavalier Standouts
In just three indoor competitions this season, Virginia has already seen impressive individual results. The season started with a bang at the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener in Boston, Mass. where Yasin Sado took down the Virginia 5000-meter record with a blazing 13:31.87. At the same competition, Margot Appleton came in just under her school-record time in the 3000m running 9:08.64 while Conor Murphy posted the second-fastest 3000m time in school history clocking 7:53.17.
Celia Rifaterra was named ACC Women’s Field Performer of the Week following a win in the high jump clearing 1.84 meters at the Hokie Invitational while John Fay and Jacob Lemmon went 1-2 in the weight throw with each coming in just under the 21-meter mark.
Peter Djan jumped out to an impressive start in the 60-meter hurdles throwing down a personal-best time of 7.85 seconds at the Virginia Tech Invitational.
Last Season at the Penn State National Open
Virginia’s 2023 trip to State College, yielded impressive results and served as a pivotal meet in Virginia’s indoor campaign. The men’s distance medley relay headlined the competition with a victory in the Distance Medley Relay running what was then a school-record time of 9:27.80 highlighted by fantastic anchor leg run by Yasin Sado who split 3:58.14 in the mile. The Cavaliers would go on to improve on their record in less than a month’s time running a time of 9:23.71. The Virginia women’s DMR squad posted a time of 11:05.66
The meet also served as a coming out party for a pair of Virginia’s young middle-distance runners. James Donahue set what was then a Virginia freshman record in the men’s mile running 4:01.97. That record would be broken later in the season when both Gary Martin and Donahue broke the four-minute barrier at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational in Boston, Mass.
On the Horizon
The Cavaliers will be back in action at the Doc Hale Virginia Tech Elite meet on Friday (Feb. 2) and Saturday (Feb. 3).