Cavaliers Cap Off Final Day of Penn Relays in Thrilling Fashion

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The Virginia men’s and women’s track and field teams closed out the final day of competition at the prestigious Penn Relays at Franklin Field on Saturday (April 27) in thrilling fashion. The men’s 4xMile and women’s 4x1500m relay teams turned in runner-up performances while Jacob Lemmon brought home the title in the men’s discus throw.

In the College Men’s 4xMile Championship of America the relay team of Wes Porter, Will Anthony, Yasin Sado and Gary Martin finished runner-up in a blistering time of 15:52.30. Pulled along by Villanova’s collegiate record setting performance, the Cavaliers were able to dip under the previous collegiate record to now own the second-fastest time in collegiate history and fourth-fastest in world history in the event. The previous collegiate record stood at 16:03.27 set by Oregon back in 2009.

Porter led things off for Virginia splitting 3:59.17 for the opening mile. Handing off the baton in second place, Anthony took over and stayed in the front pack of runners to set up Sado on the penultimate leg. Sado ran up on Marco Langon of Villanova’s shoulder before surging to the front with 200m to go. Sado turned in a split of 3:56.97 to hand the baton off to Martin in the lead. Martin returned from anchoring the men’s distance medley relay (DMR) team Friday afternoon to a third-place finish in 9:36.61, splitting 4:00.46 for 1600m. The Warminster, Pa. native led the field until about 50 meters to go when he was overtaken by Liam Murphy of Villanova. The Cavaliers turned in an impressive performance to break the Virginia record in the non-NCAA event by 22 seconds. The previous record stood at 16:14.48 set just one year ago by Nate Mountain, Conor Murphy, Martin and Porter.

In the College Women’s 4×1500 Championship of America the relay team of Esther Seeland, Tatum David, Anna Workman and Margot Appleton ran a strong race to finish second just behind the N.C. State Wolfpack in a time of 17:08.05.  The quartet recorded the fourth-fastest time in collegiate history and shattered the Virginia record in the non-NCAA event by a total of 40 seconds as the previous record stood at 17:48.76 set back in 1987 by Downey, Schuler, McBride and Rowen. Appleton, Seeland and Workman returned to the track after playing vital roles in Virginia’s record setting DMR performance Friday afternoon. The trio plus Alahna Sabbahkan finished third in a time of 10:48.55 to set the Virginia record in the event.

Seeland led the way for the Cavaliers as she stuck with the lead pack of runners to hand off the baton to David in second place. David and subsequent leg of Workman battled to stay in contention with the leaders. Receiving the baton in third place, Appleton had her work cut out for her to make up ground on N.C. State and Penn State in first and second. Appleton was able to reel in Penn State’s Hayley Kitching with 300m to go in the final lap of the race. Battling to the line was Appleton to secure second place for the Cavaliers and break the 36-year-old Virginia record.

Jacob Lemmon won the College Men’s Discus Throw Championship throwing a new personal-best of 60.04m/197-0. Lemmon opened the competition with his throw of 58.09m/190-7 to best the field on the first round of throws. Lemmon continued to better his mark holding down the first place position before launching one out 60m on his sixth and final throw to secure the victory. With his mark, the senior remains ranked fifth all-time in Virginia history.

Success in the relay events does not stop there as Alex Leath, James Donahue, Conor Murphy and Shane Cohen joined forces to run 7:16.75 for a third-place finish in the College Men’s 4×800 Championship of America. Leath and Murphy returned to the track after an impressive DMR performance Friday afternoon. The DMR team of Alex Sherman, Leath, Murphy and Martin combined talents to finish third in a time of 9:36.61.

On the women’s side, Maggie Hock, Caroline Timm, Sabbahkan and David recorded a fourth place finish with a time of 8:33.90 in the College Women’s 4×800 Championship of America. The Cavaliers ran the majority of the race from the middle of the pack. Hock leg things off, setting up the race for Timm on the second leg. Timm began clipping off runners to move up three places and split 2:06.28 for 800m. Coming back after running a leg of the 4x1500m relay earlier in the day, David got to work on the penultimate leg. On the anchor, Sabbahkan turned in the second-fastest split for the Cavaliers at 2:06.50 to hold down fourth place and cross the line in 8:33.90. The quartet was not far off the Virginia record in the non-NCAA event which stands at 8:32.13 set back in 1982 by Brynt, Nicholson, Welch and Lavender.

In the field events, Janae Profit threw for 49.46m/162-3 to finish seventh in the College Women’s Discus Throw Championship. After fouling her first throw of six, Profit continued to further her mark throwing for almost 50m on her fourth throw of the competition. Later in the day, Profit finished runner-up in the College Women’s Shot Put Championship throwing for 15.85m/52-0.

From Director of Track & Field Vin Lananna
“I am incredibly proud of our men and women.  Our men and women “lined up” in every event.  The university of Virginia’s name was prominent in front of a packed house at Franklin Field.  Whether we were running, jumping, or throwing , UVA track and field has become synonymous with excellence.  It is an honor to be the head coach of these teams.”

Up Next:
The Cavaliers host the fourth and final home meet of the season, the Virginia High Performance at Lannigan Field on Sunday (April 28).