Cavaliers Close Out Strong Weekend at Virginia Tech

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. —  The Virginia men’s and women’s track and field program close out a strong weekend of competition at the Virginia Tech Challenge on Saturday (Feb. 17) as Caroline Dannenbaum moves up on Virginia’s Top-10 list in the women’s pole vault.

Caroline Dannenbaum Moves up Top-10 List in Pole Vault

• Junior Caroline Dannenbaum cleared 3.95m (12’ 11.5”) in the women’s pole vault (unseeded) at Virginia Tech for a season-best and new indoor personal-best.
• Dannenbaum moved up to number nine all-time in program history, tied with Katie Fox ’18.
• Sophomore Samantha Romano cleared 4.08m (13’4.5”) to finish second in the competition, first among collegiate athletes.

Celia Rifaterra, Carly Tarentino and Elsa Spoor Sweep High Jump

• Sophomore Celia Rifaterra won the women’s high jump clearing 1.78m (5-10).
• Cavalier junior Carly Tarentino finished second clearing 1.73m (5-8), not far off her personal-best of 1.75m (5’ 8.75).
• Rounding out the top three was freshman Elsa Spoor clearing 1.63m (5’ 4.25”).

Cavaliers Show Speed in 200m Dash

• Freshman Ariel Fletcher won the women’s 200m dash in a season-best time 24.97. Her time is the fourth-fastest by a Cavalier in the event this season and ranks 10^th among freshman in the ACC.
• Running his second personal-best in as many days, freshman Michael Koepke clocked 22.17 for 200m. His time ranks fifth among freshman in the ACC in the event this season.
• Junior Jay Pendarvis finished in the top-3 running 21.90 to take third place.

Virginia Throwers Remain Poised in Competition

• With her second-furthest throw of the season, junior Brooke Lumpkin finished second in the women’s shot put launching one out 15.20m (49’ 10.5”).
• Fellow junior Janae Profit rounded out the top-three in the event, capturing third place with her mark of 14.69m (48’ 2.5”). This marks Profit’s second-best throw of the season.

 From Director of Track & Field Vin Lananna:
“This week was the final preparation for the Indoor ACC Championships. We saw an impressive performance by the men’s DMR at the Arkansas Qualifier as Conor Murphy, Alex Sherman, Alex Leath and Gary Martin ran under the previous collegiate record. In Boston, Margot Appleton ran another strong race in the mile nearly eclipsing her own Virginia record. This weekend’s performances gave a glimpse into what this team is capable of heading into championships season, and I am excited our team to put it all together and compete for an ACC title next week.”

Up Next
The Cavaliers will be back in action next week as the team travels to Boston, Mass. for the Indoor ACC Championships February 22-24.