The Virginia men’s and women’s track and field teams sent separate squads to race at the Raleigh Relays in Raleigh, N.C., and the Fred Hardy Invitational in Richmond, Va. The Cavaliers sent 11 distance runners to Raleigh to compete in a variety of events ranging from the 3000 meter steeplechase to the 10000 meter. At the one-day competition, Virginia faced a number of ranked opponents for both men’s and women’s track and field including the SEC powerhouse teams from Florida and Georgia. In Richmond, 30 athletes competed over two days.
Raleigh Relays
Only featuring a few runners in loaded fields, the day contest made the Cavaliers tougher, focusing on individual performance and time. On the women’s side, sophomore Kiera Bothwell ran the 3000 meter steeplechase in a time of 10:48.24, recording the 10th best time in school history. In addition, sophomore Hannah Morgan competed in her first ever collegiate 10k and successfully finished 13th in a time of 36:08.99.
On the men’s side, juniors Lachlan Cook and Alex Corbett notched breakthrough runs in 10000 meters. Cook finished 15th with a time of 29:10.03, ranking fifth in school history. Corbett earned 19th place in a time of 29:18.99, placing him ninth on the all-time list. Both runners ran PRs.
Fred Hardy Invitational
Virginia only entered a few athletes Friday, the first day of meet action. Regardless, both the women and men earned multiple top-three finishes. For the women, senior Mia Barron and junior Tedi DeMaria won their respective events. Barron jumped a season-best of 12.36 meters in the triple jump and DeMaria eclipsed a height of 3.80 meters in the pole vault. For the men, the lone competitor freshman Colin Duignan finished third overall in the pole vault competition with a jump clearing 4.40 meters.
Day two saw even more victories and PRs. Three women claimed first place finishes including junior Anna Jefferson in the 100-meter and 200-meter, Barron with number two in the long jump, and junior Alexis Woodley in the 100-meter hurdles. Capturing a close second place, junior Andrenette Knight ran a time of 55.54 in the 400-meter.
The men’s side produced notable performances in the sprint races, distance runs and field events. The event and result of the day came in the 400 meter run with three Cavaliers finishing in the top three. Sophomore Brandon Outlaw finished first, then sophomore Jordan Willis and senior Jake Dixon. Similarly, three distance athletes finished in the top five of the 3000 meter. Sophomore Ryan Buscaglia placed second, freshman Derek Johnson finished fourth and freshman Peter Morris rounded out in fifth place overall. Moving over to the field, freshman Ayende Watson, on only his second attempt, jumped 7.25 meters to win the long jump.
"Both meets were productive on various levels and served their purpose at this time of the season," Director of Track and Field Bryan Fetzer said. "We secured a few NCAA qualifiers in the 10k and others posted [personal bests]. It's all about the preparation and learning for the championships in May and June at this point."
Virginia will spend the rest of the season at home, beginning with its first home standoff against Maryland and Pittsburgh April 6.
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