Four Cavaliers Advance to NCAA Championship Finals

EUGENE, Ore. – The Virginia men’s track and field team opened competition at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships Wednesday (June 5) where Shane Cohen, Nate Mountain, Wes Porter and Yasin Sado qualified for the finals.

Two-for-Two
Both of Virginia’s competitors in the men’s 3000m steeplechase advanced to the final round of the NCAA Championships as Nate Mountain and Yasin Sado secured automatic qualifying positions.

• Nate Mountain led things off for the Virginia duo in the first heat. Sticking with the leaders, the junior crossed the line in second place with a time of 8:32.92.
• In the second heat, Yasin Sado ran much of the race outside of the pack. Sado turned in a fourth-place finish in the heat with his time of 8:30.03.
• Both Mountain and Sado secured their second-ever qualification to an NCAA final in the steeplechase with Mountain looking to better his fourth-place finish from a year ago while Sado looks to build on his 14^th place finish from 2022.
• The final is set to be contested Friday (June 7) at 6:24 p.m. PT (9:24 p.m. ET).

Shane Cohen to the Finals

• Shane Cohen executed the men’s 800m semifinal race in Shane Cohen fashion, run from behind and overtake the field with 100m to go.
• Similar to his race from the NCAA East preliminary, Cohen recorded near equal splits clocking 53.28 and 53.67 for 400-meter laps.
• Cohen will look to join Robby Andrews (2011) and Paul Ereng (1988, 1989) as a Virginia NCAA 800m Champion.
• While the senior already has NCAA Division II All-American honors to his name, Cohen will look to add NCAA Division I accolades to his resume.
• The final is set to be contested Friday (June 7) at 7:14 p.m. PT/10:14 p.m. ET.

Wes Porter is Finals Bound

• In his NCAA Outdoor Championships debut, Wes Porter remained poised in the first of two semifinal heats in the men’s 1500m to secure one of five automatic qualifying positions per heat.
• Porter crossed the line in 3:39.88 to finish third in his heat and 14^th
• Virginia has not seen an NCAA Champion in the event and the last time a Cavalier earned All-American accolades in the 1500m was back in 2018 when Mike Marsella garnered second-team honors.
• The final is set to be contested Friday (June 7) at 6:12 p.m. PT (9:12 p.m. ET).

More performances

• In his NCAA Outdoor Championships debut, John Fay threw for 65.23m/214-0 on his second throw of the competition to finish 23^rd
• Gary Martin’s season came to a close in the men’s 1500m semifinal as the sophomore crossed the line in 3:41.43 to finish nineth in his heat and 21^st
• Will Anthony capped of an impressive season with an 18^th place finish in the men’s 10,000m with his time of 28:56.48.

Up Next:
The NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships continue tomorrow (June 6) as the women’s competition begins. Janae Profit is set to make her NCAA Outdoor Championship debut in the shot put at 7:40 p.m. PT/10:40 p.m. ET.