Cavaliers Close Out Competition at Virginia Tech Challenge
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The Virginia men’s and women’s track and field program closed out another exciting weekend of competition at the Virginia Tech Challenge at Rector Field House in Blacksburg, Va. on Saturday (Feb.22).
Virginia Tech Challenge
- Sarah Akpan recorded her second win of the weekend in the women’s 200-meter dash. Akpan completed the one lap race in a season best time of 23.93.
- Justin Rogers cleared 5.03m/16-6 in the men’s pole vault competition to finish in fifth place.
- Freshman Theresa Breckley finished third in the women’s shot put competition throwing for 13.89m/45-7 on her fourth attempt.
Weekend Recap
- The distance medley relay (DMR) team of Wes Porter, Conor Murphy, Alex Sherman and Gary Martin recorded the fastest time in the world on a legal, 200-meter track clocking 9:14.19 at the Arkansas Qualifier.
- The quartet shattered the collegiate record which previously stood at 9:16.40 by Oklahoma State at this meet two years ago.
- Virginia also broke the Randal Tyson facility record, Arkansas Qualifier meet record, Virginia school record and the ACC indoor record.
- The race splits include Wes Porter going 2:50.51 for the opening 1200-meter leg, Alex Sherman sprinting 46.27 on the 400-meter leg, Conor Murphy clocking 1:47.33 for 800-meters and Gary Martin anchoring for the win in 3:50.09 for 1600-meters.Virginia went three-for-three in the prelims of the men’s and women’s 60-meter hurdles as Peter Djan (8.12), Jeremiah Wilson (8.06, SB) and Maya Rollins (8.54) earned automatic qualifying positions to the final.
- At the Virginia Tech Challenge, Virginia dominated in the sprints with top three finishes from Peter Djan (60mH, 7.95 SB, 1st), Jeremiah Wilson (60mH, 8.07, 3rd), Maya Rollins (60mH, 8.49, 1st) and Sarah Akpan (60m, 7.39 PB, 1st).
- Akpan moved up to tie Sonja Fridy ’86 for No.5 in Virginia history in the women’s 60-meter dash.
- The trio of Cavaliers in Evans White IV (48.14, 3rd), Gage Gose (48.88, 5th) and Max Russo (48.95, 6th) recorded top 10 finishes in the men’s 400-meters.
Up Next
The Cavaliers will continue the indoor campaign as the championship season begins with the ACC Indoor Championships in Louisville, Ky. at the Norton Healthcare Sport and Learning Center hosted by the University of Louisville Saturday through Sunday, March 1-3.