Four Individual Cavaliers and Two Relays Qualify for 2024 NCAA Indoor Championships
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Track and Field and Cross Country Committee announced Tuesday (February 27) the participants who will compete in the 2024 Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track and Field Championships in Boston, Massachusetts on Friday, March 8 and Saturday, March 9. Four individual Cavaliers made the cut including Margot Appleton, Gary Martin, Conor Murphy, and Anna Workman along with the men’s and women’s distance medley relays.
The Cavaliers will send three milers to the NCAA Championships as Margot Appleton, Gary Martin and Anna Workman each qualified for the event. Martin’s seed time of 3:54.73 places him 10th among the field. Martin broke the four-minute barrier and set a Virginia record in the event at the Eagle Elite meet. Martin will make his first-ever appearance at an Indoor NCAA Championship meet.
Appleton will enter as the nation’s 12 seed with her program record time of 4:30.87 from the Penn State National Open. The junior is set to compete in her third indoor NCAA Championships after finishing fourth in the mile last season and seventh in the distance medley relay (DMR) in 2022.
Also qualifying in the event is Workman. The senior has a personal-best of 4:31.91 to rank 14th in the field going into her first Indoor NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Boston. On the same track, Workman eared her first indoor ACC medal after finishing third in the event at the conference championship over the weekend.
Conor Murphy punched his ticket in the 800m with a season-best 1:46.95 from the Penn State National Open. His time ranks 10th among the field heading into compeition. Murphy finished sixth in the mile to earn his first All-American honors at these championships a year ago.
Virginia will send both men’s and women’s distance medley relay teams to Boston. The men’s relay team of Alex Sherman, Alex Leath, Martin and Murphy ran the fourth-fastest time in collegiate history to break the Virginia school record clocking 9:18.95 and ranks fourth among the field set to compete in Boston. Most recently, James Donahue, Jayden Lyons, Shane Cohen and Wes Porter combined to take home the gold medal in a time of 9:33.46 at the 2024 Indoor ACC Championships.
The women’s relay team punched its ticket to the NCAA meet after Alahna Sabbahkan, Maggie Hock, Appleton and Workman finished second at the conference championships crossing the line in 10:50.58. The quartet broke the Virginia program record for the second time this season, with the first coming at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational clocking 10:52.22. The women’s distance medley relay ranks 11th in the field of the competition.
ESPN+ will stream the championships live starting at 9:28 a.m. and again at 6:58 p.m. Eastern time Friday, March 8 and starting at 11:30 a.m. and again at 6:55 p.m. Eastern time Saturday, March 9. There will be two re-airs of the meet.