Track & Field: UVA picks up a pair of silver medals on opening day of ACC Championships

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

The Virginia men’s and women’s track and field teams began competition at the ACC Indoor Championships on Friday in Louisville, as Alix Still finished second in the pentathlon setting both a Virginia and Scottish national record while Jacob Lemmon won a silver medal of his own in the weight throw. The women ended the day in fifth place while the men are tied for eighth.

Still got off to a hot start in the pentathlon winning the first event of the day with a personal-best time of 8.41 in the 60-meter hurdles. She followed up by matching a season-best mark in the high jump clearing 1.68 meters (5’6”) to position herself in third place with 1,867 points after the first pair of events.

She remained in third place after throwing a personal best in the shot put of 11.64 meters (38’2.25”) and leaping to a mark of 5.97 meters (17’9”) in the long jump to put herself in striking distance with just the 800 meters to go. In the final event, Still ran 2:19.28 to place second overall in the pentathlon with 4,177 points. Her second-place finish scored eight points for the Cavaliers.

Still’s point total breaks a Virginia record of 4,153 set by Susan Brownell in 1982 and bests a Scottish national record of 4,096 set by Aileen Wilson in 2002.

Jacob Lemmon put forward an impressive performance in the men’s weight throw. The senior posted a personal-best mark of 22.18 meters (72’9.25”) on his very first throw of the competition. The attempt was the first time Lemmon had ever thrown over 22 meters and moves him into second on the UVA all-time list. He would throw over 22 once again on his last attempt, but the mark came up shy of the title as Lemmon earned the silver and scored eight points for the Cavaliers.

In the earlier flight of the weight throw, John Fay put on a performance of his own as he launched three consecutive personal-best throws. His third reached a distance of 20.72 meters (67’11.75”) and earned him a seventh-place finish. Fay threw farther than his previous best in each of his six throws and now ranks fourth all time at Virginia and sets a freshman record in the event.

The Cavalier women took 5.5 points from the women’s pole vault as Sam Romano and Trina Barcarola led the Cavaliers. Romano was Virginia’s top finisher placing fifth to earn second team All-ACC honors while matching her own Virginia freshman record of 4.20 meters (13’9.25”) which she set just one week prior. Trina Barcarola tied for seventh place clearing 4.10 meters (13’5.25”) to score for the Cavaliers.

The Cavalier women picked up five points in the distance medley relay as a team of Esther Seeland, Emily Alexandru, Keara Seasholtz and Margot Appleton finished fifth fourth. The squad posted 10:55.94, a time that set the Virginia school record in the DMR.

HEPTATHLON UPDATE

Ethan Robinson began his day winning his heat of the 60-meter dash posting a time of 7.01 seconds finishing second overall. After posting 6.64 meters (21’9.5”) in the long jump, Robinson sat in fifth place with a total of 1,608 points after the first two events. Robinson ended the day in the high jump clearing 1.91 meters (6’3.25”) to position himself in sixth place at the end of the first day.

The remaining three events that will be contested tomorrow (Feb. 24) include the 60-meter hurdles, pole vault, and 1,000 meters.

FROM DIRECTOR OF TRACK & FIELD VIN LANANNA

“Today was a great start for our both of our teams. Alix Still and Jacob Lemmon were both fantastic. We also saw great performances from Samantha Romano and Trina Barcarola in the pole vault as well as John Fay in the weight throw. I am very disappointed for our men’s DMR team. They ran their hearts out today but unfortunately were disqualified after an excellent race. However, our team won’t let that discourage us. There is plenty more to be accomplished over the next few days.”

Women’s Team Standings
Virginia Tech – 48
Duke – 27.5
NC State – 27
Notre Dame – 26
Virginia – 18.5
Syracuse – 11
Louisville – 9
Pitt – 8
North Carolina – 7
Clemson – 6
Wake Forest – 5
Miami – 1
Florida State – 1
Boston College – 0
Georgia Tech – 0

Men’s Team Standings
Louisville – 25.5
Virginia Tech – 21
Notre Dame – 19
Clemson – 13.5
Wake Forest – 13
Duke – 13
North Carolina – 12
Miami – 10
Syracuse – 10
Virginia – 10
Pitt – 4
NC State – 3
Boston College – 1
Georgia Tech – 1
Florida State – 0

UP NEXT

The ACC Indoor Championships will resume Friday, beginning with the heptathlon 60-meter hurdles at 11 a.m.