Having just kicked off the outdoor season March 23 at the Virginia Opener, Virginia track and field brought nothing short of its best to one of the largest and most stacked collegiate meets in the country — the Raleigh Relays. From Thursday to Saturday in Raleigh, N.C., the Cavaliers recorded four school records and 23 personal bests.
Day One
Sophomore Will Anthony got things started for the Cavaliers with a commanding win in the men’s 10,000-meter race, running a time of 28:21.93 to obliterate the previous school record of 28:44.22. Sophomore Gary Martin kept the Cavaliers’ record-breaking ways going, setting the school record in the 5000-meter event with a second place finish in 13:31.51 thanks to a fantastic kick in the final 100 meters. Junior Nathan Mountain’s personal-best time of 13:32.65 was also under the previous school record and good for third place.
Virginia continued its strength in the distance events, as sophomore James Donahue finished second amongst collegians in the men’s 1500-meter event in a time of 3:40.27 to record the eighth-fastest time in school history. Senior Conor Murphy was not far behind, as he ran a time of 3:40.88 to finish fifth amongst collegians.
The Cavaliers posted good performances across the field events as well, as junior Janae Profit finished seventh in the women’s shot put with a mark of 14.70 meters, and junior Brooke Lumpkin secured eighth place with an effort of 14.55 meters.
Day Two
In what has become the norm for the standout Cavalier, junior Margot Appleton set the tone for Virginia on day two of competition by winning the women’s 5000-meter event in dominant fashion, gapping the rest of the field by seven seconds to cross the line in a time of 15:18.21. The mark crushed her own record of 15:36.28 and was good enough to break the meet and facility records as well.
After making her mark in the indoor season, junior Jenny Schilling continued to impress with a stellar 32:44.19 run in the 10,000-meter event. The time was good for fourth place amongst collegians and smashed the previous 36-year-old school record of 32:58.64. Moving down in distance, graduate student Esther Seeland posted a time of 4:12.64 in the women’s 1500-meter race to earn fifth place. Senior Anna Workman was close behind in sixth place with a personal-best time of 4:12.73.
The Cavaliers also had a good day on the field, as senior Jacob Lemmon won the men’s discus event with a mark of 55.33 meters and Profit finished fourth on the women’s side with a throw of 49.48 meters. Virginia had a good showing in the pole vault, too, as senior Ethan Robinson cleared an outdoor personal best of 4.65 meters to earn sixth place in the competition. Sophomore Justin Rogers, competing in the invitational section of the pole vault, cleared 5 meters to place fourth. Junior Carly Tarentino rounded out the day’s stellar field performances, posting a mark of 1.75 meters in the women’s high jump to finish second amongst collegians.
Day Three
The third and final day brought more success for the Cavaliers, beginning with junior John Fay’s throw of 68.41 meters in the men’s hammer throw to earn him third place. Sophomore Samantha Romano and graduate student Hanne Borstlap excelled in the women’s pole vault invitational, clearing 4.25 meters and 3.95 meters, respectively, to earn joint first and fourth place. Junior Jordan Hardy also made her way onto the podium for the Cavaliers in the women's long jump, posting a mark of 6.03 meters to finish third in the competition.
Back on the track, sophomore Sarah Akpan ran a time of 23.66 seconds in the women's 200-meter race to finish in fourth place, while junior Alex Sherman’s 51.42 seconds effort in the men’s 400-meter hurdles also earned him fourth place.
The Cavaliers also made their mark in the relay events, as the women raced to second place in the 4x400-meter race in 3:38.33, while Virgnia earned fourth in the men’s event in 3:10.37. To cap off the day’s excellent performances, senior Emily Alexandru earned fifth place amongst collegiate participants in the women’s 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:01.47, and sophomore Sophia Akpan followed closely behind with a time of 1:01.93 that earned her seventh place amongst college participants.
Given that the four record-breaking Cavaliers opened their outdoor season with this meet, this early-season prowess is an incredibly promising sign for what is to come. Vin Lananna, director of track and field and cross country, sees this meet as just the beginning in a long outdoor season for his team.
“I am excited to see the team continue to improve over the coming weeks and into the conference championships,” Lananna said.
The Cavaliers look to keep the spectacular performances going as they head to High Point, N.C. Friday to compete in the Vertklasse Meeting.
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