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Virginia indoor track and field delivered well-rounded performances at the Tiger Paw Invite and the Darius Dixon Memorial Invite

The Cavaliers competed in the two-day Tiger Paw Invite in Clemson, S.C and the two-day Darius Dixon Memorial Invite in Lynchburg, Va.

<p>Junior Owayne Owens finished second in the triple jump, recording a jump of 16.04 meters (52'7.5")</p>

Junior Owayne Owens finished second in the triple jump, recording a jump of 16.04 meters (52'7.5")

Tiger Paw Invite — Day One 

The women’s team reeled in top-five finishes in the long jump and 60-meter competitions, had solid performances in the 400-meter and shot put events and set new season bests.

The men had top-10 finishes in the shot put and 60-meter preliminaries as well as a pair of performers setting new bests in their respective events. 

Women’s track and field 

Sophomore Jada Seaman built off her performance from last week’s Doc Hale Virginia Tech Elite Meet by winning the long jump event for the second consecutive meet of the season. Seaman’s first place performance was cemented with a jump of 6.20 meters (20’4.25”). 

Senior Khyasia Caldwell also competed in the long jump event. Caldwell took hold of fourth place in the event with a jump of 6.09 meters (19’11.75”) — tying her season best. 

Sophomore Tara Zeni set a new best in the long jump event with a leap of 5.57 meters (18’3.25”). 

Senior Halle Hazzard stood out in the 60-meter dash event, placing second in the preliminaries with a time of 7.29. She would later eclipse that time and stamp third place in the final round with 7.26. Hazzard was only two milliseconds shy of breaking her Virginia all-time mark of 7.24, which she set last season. 

Freshman Kayla Bonnick placed 12th in a field of 29 competitors in the 60-meter dash preliminaries with a time of 7.59. 

Graduate student Andrenette Knight turned in an eighth place finish in the 400-meter event with a season-best time of 55.13. 

Senior Brittany Jones solidified a top-10 placement in the shot put event with a mark of 13.40 meters. 

Men’s track and field

Freshman Claudio Romero competed in the shot put and had a season-best mark of 17.63 meters (57’10.25”) — placing sixth. 

Senior Jordan Willis had a season best of his own in the 400-meter event with a time of 47.02.

Freshman Jeremiah Wilson placed ninth in the 60-meter hurdle preliminaries with a time of 8.55. 

Darius Dixon Memorial Invite — Day One

The women’s distance medley performers carried out a particularly great performance on the first day of the Darius Dixon Memorial Invite. The men’s team also performed relatively well, placing two athletes on the day.

Women’s track and field 

The distance medley teams were divided into separate groups. Senior Kiera Bothwell, senior Hannah Moran, freshman Claire Frazier Bolton and freshman Keara Seasholtz competed in group B. Group A consisted of senior Madelin Rennyson, junior Helena Lindsay, sophomore Alahna Sabbakhan and freshman Ellie Desmond. 

Group B won the event with a time of 11:40.18. Group A followed up with a second-place time of 11:45.99. 

Men’s track and field

Jay Pendarvis emerged as the top contributor for the men’s team on the day as he placed seventh in the 400-meter with a time of 49.71. 

Sophomore Nigel Davis competed in the 60-meter event. In a field of 23, Davis placed 14th with a time of 7.05.

Tiger Paw Invite — Day Two

The women had three performers cross the finish line in the top six. Junior Rebecca Hawkins wrapped up a top-five performance. The women also had two out of 50 finishes in the top 15 and a personal best that was set in the 200-meter dash. 

On the men’s side, junior Owayne Owens continued his hot streak of placing in the top two of every jumping event he has competed in this season. The men’s weight crew added several good performances, and a personal best was set in the men’s 200-meter dash. 

Women’s track and field 

Junior Zoe Rice, Caldwell and freshman Nadia Saunders had very good outings in the triple jump. Rice secured third place at 12.47 meters (40’11”) — entering Virginia’s all-time performance list. Caldwell cracked the top five with a fourth-place finish at 12.46 meters (40’10.5”). Saunders placed sixth with a jump of 12.15 meters (39’10.5”).  

Hawkins placed claimed fifth place in the high jump with a jump of 1.72 meters. 

Hazzard placed ninth in the 200-meter with a time of 23.79, and Seaman finished 12th with a time of 23.96. Bonnick also earned her best time of the season at 24.66 in the same event. 

Men’s track and field

For the men, Owens grabbed second place in the triple jump event behind Team USA’s Alphonso Jordan. Although Owens finished second, he was recognized as the top collegiate performer in the event at 16.04 meters (52’7.5”).  

Freshman Jacob Lemmon had a solid performance in the weight throw event. Lemmon began his outing by setting a personal-best distance with a throw of 19.45 meters, then improved on that throw in his second attempt with a mark of 19.47 meters. He capped off his day by topping his second attempt with a throwing distance of 19.73 meters. That tally elevated Lemmon to fourth on Virginia’s all-time list and second on Virginia’s freshman record list. 

Graduate student Ty Kunzman placed 10th in the weight throw event with a throw of 18.18 meters, and Romero finished behind Kunzman with a mark of 17.94 meters. 

In the 200-meter event, Willis ran a season-best time of 21.55 — placing 14th out of 36 competitors. 

Darius Dixon Memorial Invite — Day Two

The women’s 800-meter performers earned three finishes in the top five, while only one runner on the men’s team placed throughout the day.

Women’s track and field 

Graduate student Michaela Meyer performed unattached in the 800-meter event and iced the event with a first-place finish at 2:05.46. 

Seasholtz and sophomore Alahna Sabbakhan also performed very well in the 800-meter event. Seasholtz claimed second place with a time of 2:08.43, while Sabbakhan crossed the finish line for fourth place with a time of 2:11.33

Men’s track and field

Nigel Davis ran a personal-best time of 22.44 in the 200-meter event — earning a 12th place finish in a field of 24 competitors. 

Overall, Vin Lananna, director of track and field and cross country and associate athletics director for administration, was happy with his team’s overall performance. The Cavaliers also got an early taste of what their surroundings at the ACC Championship may be like.

“The men’s and women’s teams both enjoyed a great weekend,” Lananna said. “With one week left, our goal will be to remain healthy as the championship season commences.”

Before heading to the ACC Championship, the Cavaliers will travel to Winston-Salem, N.C. for the two-day JDL DMR Invitational and to Blacksburg for the two-day Virginia Tech Challenge. Both meets will take place Feb. 19-20.

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