Cavalier women cap NCAA Regional with wins, school records

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

The Virginia women’s track and field team had a successful final day at the NCAA East Preliminary Round in Jacksonville, Fla., winning two events and setting three school records.

Graduate student Michaela Meyer and senior Andrenette Knight were the top finishers in their respective events while the Cavaliers’ 4×100-meter and 4×400-meter relay teams earned spots in the field for the NCAA Outdoor Championships that take place in in Eugene, Ore., June 9-12.

Meyer won the 800 meters with a time of 2:00.40 to set a UVA record and break the Hodges Stadium facility record she set during Thursday’s first-round race. That is the fastest time ever run in the 11-year history of the NCAA Preliminary Round events. It is the second-fasted time in the NCAA this season.

Knight, a senior, qualified for the NCAAs in the 400-meter hurdles for the fourth time during her collegiate career. The ACC Champion in the event, she cruised to first place with a time of 56.07.

The Cavaliers’ 4×100-meter relay team also earned a place in the field for the national championships. The team of Anna Jefferson, Jada Seaman, Kayla Bonnick and Halle Hazzard ran a school-record time of 43.75 to be one of 12 teams advancing.

To cap the meet, UVA’s 4×400-meter relay team earned an automatic qualification with a top-three finish in its heat. Jefferson and Seaman were joined by Meyer and Knight to set a school-record time of 3:30.44, almost two seconds faster than the old mark.

During the four-day competition, a total of 10 Virginia men’s and women’s individual competitors qualified for this year’s national championships meet in addition to the two women’s relay teams.