The Virginia track and field team will be traveling to Raleigh Thursday to compete in the ACC Outdoor Championships. Both the men and women’s squad will look to improve on their respective sixth and 10th place finishes from last year.
Both squads lack the depth they have been accustomed to in recent years, but coach Bryan Fetzer is still confident in the team’s ability to make a mark this weekend.
“We have some individuals who are ready to have some pretty good performances,” Fetzer said. “Championships usually bring the best out of individuals.”
In his first year coaching the Cavaliers, Fetzer has helped the team reach new heights. After starting the season slowly, Fetzer’s squad has picked up momentum in the last few weeks with many athletes setting massive personal bests.
On the women’s side, graduate student Catherine White ran the second fastest time in school history in the 10,000 at the Stanford Invitational. White also sits atop the ACC rankings and is the reigning conference champion in the event.
“I’d love to defend my 10k championship,” White said. “As a team we are focusing on getting better each meet and if we can bring that type of energy and competitiveness into the meet we will be fine. If everyone shows up I think we can do solidly as a program.”
White’s performances have been complemented on the sprinting side by sophomore Jordan Lavender. Lavender has had a spectacular spring and has posted strong enough times to be ranked second in the 200-meter and fourth in the 400 in the ACC. Not to be outdone, junior Barbara Strehler has run a personal best in each race she has run this season. The trio of White, Lavender and Strehler will look to string together similar performances this weekend and make an impact in the team standings.
“Going into any big meet like this, you try to score as many points as possible,” Strehler said. “Try to set yourself up in a good place. It is not really about time it is about scoring the most points.”
The men’s team has had successes of their own and is led by sophomore Payton Hazzard. Hazzard has built upon his stellar sophomore campaign this spring and currently sits third in the ACC in the 400-meter. Junior distance runner Taylor Gilland has strung together a couple solid performances and has run a season best time of 3:45 in the 1500 meters, good enough for fifth in the conference. Gilland is well within striking distance of the leaders in the event this weekend.
Junior Abbey Karin will kick off the championships by competing in the women’s javelin throw, in which she ranks second in the ACC. Junior Anna Finger and sophomore Christian Lavorgna will also be competing Thursday in the heptathlon and decathlon, respectively. Finger finished third in the pentathlon this winter at the ACC Indoor Championships. Lavorgna will be competing in his first college decathlon this weekend.
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