Sherman Sets Meet Record on Second Day of Vertklasse Meeting

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The Virginia men’s and women’s track and field programs closed out a strong weekend of competition at the Verklasse Meeting in High Point, N.C. Saturday (April 6) as Alex Sherman set the meet record in the men’s 400m hurdles.

Meet Record for Alex Sherman

• Alex Sherman clocked a new personal-best 50.93 to win and set the meet record in the men’s 400m hurdles. Sherman remains ranked fourth all-time in Virginia history.
• The previous meet record of 51.01 was set in 2016 by SC State’s Christopher Gaddist.
• This marks the first time the Newtown, Mass. native has run under the 50 second mark in the hurdle race as his previous best stood at 51.09 from the 2023 ACC Outdoor Championships.
• Sherman led teammates Gage Gose (53.45) and Jeremiah Wilson (55.94) to round out the top-10 finishers in fifth and tenth respectively.

Akpan, Lemmon, Lyons and Gose Best the Competition

• Sarah Akpan bested the field in the women’s 100m dash crossing the line in 11.56 (+1.3). Akpan out stepped second place by four one hundredths of a second to secure the win.
• Jacob Lemmon won the men’s discus throw in a new personal-best of 59.75m/196-1 and remains ranked fifth all-time in Virginia history. Lemmon bested second place by two meters on his sixth and final throw of the competition.
• Jaden Lyons and Evans White IV went 1-2 in the men’s 400m dash. Lyons crossed the line in a season-best 45.92 to just out lean his teammate White IV in 45.95.
• Freshman Gage Gose took the top spot in the men’s 110m hurdles participation section clocking 14.97 (+2.7).

Cavaliers Showing Speed in the Sprints

• Ariel Fletcher clocked new personal-best 55.03 in the women’s 400m dash to become the fifth fastest freshman in Virginia history.
• Fletcher has recorded a personal-best each 400m race she has run this season. The freshman also recorded a wind-aided season-best of 24.44 (+2.4) to round out the top-3 finishers in the women’s 200m.
• In the women’s 400m hurdles, Emily Alexandru cleared the hurdles in a season-best of 1:00.09 to finish second overall, first among collegiate athletes.
• Following Alexandru, Brooke’Lyn Drakeford (1:03.41) and Sophia Akpan (1:03.46) rounded out the top six finishers in the women’s 400m hurdles.
• Freshman Elizabeth Imoh recorded a personal-best of 1:04.71 in her second 400m hurdle race of the season.
• The women’s 4x100m relay team combined for a second-place finish crossing the line in 46.01.

Setting a High Bar

• Carly Tarentino finished runner-up in the women’s high jump clearing 1.71m/5-7.75. Tarentino cleared the first three bars on her first attempt at each height before knocking the bar down at 1.75m/5-8.75, which would have equaled her personal-best in the event.
• In her outdoor season opener, Celia Rifaterra cleared 1.65m/5-5 on her first attempt to finish fourth overall. After clearing 1.65m/5-5, Rifaterra passed on the following height before knocking the bar down at 1.72m/5-7.75.
• Justin Rogers cleared 5.01m/16-5.25 on his third attempt at the height in the men’s pole vault to finish seventh overall, second among collegiate athletes. Rogers’ mark was just off his season-best of 5.02m/16-5.5 set at the Virginia Opener.
• In the women’s pole vault, Samantha Romano cleared 4.16m/13-7.75 to finish fourth overall, third among collegiate athletes. Romano entered the competition clearing 4.06m/13-3.75 on her first attempt before clearing 4.16m on her second go at the height.

Cavaliers Finish in the Top-5

• On her fifth jump of the competition, Jordan Hardy leapt out to a season-best 12.53m/41-1.50 (+1.3) to finish second in the women’s triple jump.
• Janae Profit recorded two seasons-best marks in the women’s discus (49.53m/162-6) and shot put (15.32m/50-3.25). With both marks coming on her fourth throw of the competition, Profit’s mark was good for fifth in discus and third in shot put.
• Brooke Lumpkin rounded out the top-five in the women’s discus throwing for 14.66m/48-1.25 on her fifth throw.

From Director of Track & Field Vin Lananna
“This was an awesome weekend for our jumpers, throwers, sprinters and hurdlers. Alex Sherman set the meet record in the 400m hurdles and Ariel Fletcher became the fifth fastest freshman all-time in program history for 400 meters. In the field, Jacob Lemmon (discus) and Janae Profit (discus, shot put) achieved huge personal-best marks. Sarah Akpan (100m), Jaden Lyons (400m) and Gage Gose (400m hurdles participation section) handled business winning their events. We are excited to carry this momentum forward and compete at home the next two weekends with the Virginia Grand Prix and the Virginia Challenge.”

Up Next
The Cavaliers are back in action as the team is set to host back-to-back weekends at Lannigan Field with the Virginia Grand Prix Friday (April 12) through Saturday (Aril 13) and then the Virginia Challenge Friday (April 19) and Saturday (April 20). The team will recognize the senior class at the conclusion of the Virginia Challenge on April 20^th.

A contingent of Cavaliers will also make the trip to the west coast to compete at the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, Calif. on Thursday, April 11.