𝗛𝗘'𝗦 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗗𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗬𝗘𝗧 😤
Just two days after finishing 6th at NCAAs, Wes Porter breaks the 𝟭𝟱𝟬𝟬𝗺 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗢𝗟 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗 in new personal-best 3:35.63 at the Portland Track Festival! #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/SEJFwK6yxj
— Virginia Track & Field and Cross Country (@UVATFCC) June 10, 2024
Porter Sets School Record at Portland Track Festival
PORTLAND, Ore. – The Virginia men’s and women’s track and field teams continued to impress in the post season with record setting runs at the Portland Track Festival in Portland, Ore. where Wes Porter set the school record in the 1500-meters.
Just two days after standing atop the podium in his NCAA Outdoor Championship debut, Wes Porter continued to shock in the post season. The senior qualified for his first NCAA Outdoor Championship final in the 1500m in Eugene and went on to finish sixth in a stacked field of runners clocking 3:40.39. Entering the competition as the 22nd of 24 seeded competitors, Porter will leave the west coast with his first outdoor First Team All-American honor of his career.
He had more in the tank, much more than the field in Portland may have anticipated. Entering the meet with a season and personal best of 3:38.54, Porter went out in 42.67 for the first 300-meters of the race. The Kansas City, Mo. native went on to turn in splits of 57.95, 58.91, 56.22 for 400-meter laps to ultimately cross the line ahead of the competition in the men’s 1500m high performances clocking 3:35.63. Porter breaks the program record previously held by his teammate Gary Martin at 3:37.66 set earlier this season at the Raleigh Relays. His time ranks fifth in Division I this season as well as 12th all-time collegiately.
Gary Martin also recorded a new personal best in thrilling fashion as the Warminster, Penn. native crossed the line in 3:35.77 in the men’s 1500m Hot Window Running Warehouse section. Martin went out in 43.88 for the first 300-meters of the race before turning in 400-meter lap splits of 57.88 and 58.92 before finishing the final lap in 55.09. The sophomore’s impressive performance was good for a third-place finish just behind two veterans in professional runners Cooper Teare and Kieran Lumb. Martin’s time is the sixth fasted in Division I this season and sits second all-time in Virginia history.
With their performances in Portland, Martin and Porter also achieved the Olympic Trials standard in the event which is set at 3:37.00. The duo joins fellow distance teammates Nate Mountain (3000m steeplechase), Yasin Sado (3000mSC) and Shane Cohen (800m) as Cavaliers that will have a run at qualifying for the Olympic Team later this month.
Margot Appleton continued her impressive junior campaign as she competed in the women’s 1500-meter race in Portland. Just one day after finishing fourth in the 5000-meters at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, the All-American returned to the distance she recently won back-to-back ACC Outdoor titles in. Appleton finished sixth in a competitive field in a season best time of 4:09.56 for 1500m. Less than a season of her personal best (4:08.96), her time is good for 20th among Division I competition this season.