Virginia Kicks Off Doc Hale Virginia Tech Elite
BLACKSBURG, Va. — The Virginia men’s and women’s track and field program opened competition at the Doc Hale Virginia Tech Elite meet on Friday (Feb. 2) at Rector Field House where Heldi Valikaj cracked the UVA all-time performance list in the men’s long jump to lead the Cavaliers on day one.
Jumpers Bag Runner-Up Finishes
- In the men’s long jump, Heldi Valikaj leaped to a second-place finish clearing a personal-best mark of 7.46 meters (24’ 5.75”).
- With the performance, Valikaj moves into seventh all-time on the UVA performance list.
- On the women’s side, Jordan Hardy posted a runner-up finish of her own with a season-best mark of 6.09 meters (19’ 11.75”).
- Mahkaia Lee posted a personal-best mark of 5.87 meters (19’ 3.25”)
- Also competing in the field events, Jacob Lemmon placed fifth in the men’s weight throw with a mark of 20.19 meters (66’ 3”).
Sherman Leads 400 Runners
- In the men’s 400 meters, Alex Sherman posted a third-place finish while running 48.11.
- Jaden Lyons won his heat placing fourth overall with a time of 48.42. Evans White IV posted a heat win of his own running 48.62.
- On the women’s side, Anzhelika Parenchuk led the Cavaliers with a fifth-place finish running 56.28.
Sprinters and Hurdlers Make Finals
- In the men’s 60-meter hurdles, Peter Djan and Jeremiah Wilson posted 8.03 and 8.06 to advance to the finals. The duo went 5-6 in the finals posting 8.10 and 8.12 respectively.
- In the women’s 60-meter dash Kayla Bonnick and Sarah Akpan each advanced to the finals where they placed fourth and fifth respectively. Bonnick posted 7.51 while Akpan recorded a time of 7.53
Spoor Places Third in Pentathlon
- In her first pentathlon competition as a Cavalier, freshman Elsa Spoor placed third in the event with a total of 3,315 points, a mark that ranks fifth among freshmen in UVA history.
- Spoor cleared a mark of 1.68 meters (5’ 6”) in the high jump and closed out the competition turning 800 meters in 2:20.19.
- In the men’s heptathlon, David Frasier ended the first day of competition in eighth place with a total of 2,873 points. Frasier posted 7.13 in the 60 meters and marked 6.82 meters (22’ 4.5”) in the long jump. The remaining three events will be contested tomorrow (Feb. 3).
Up Next
Virginia will be back in action when the Doc Hale Virginia Tech Elite meet continues tomorrow (Feb.3).