Indoor Track: Hoos complete Day 1 action at NCAA Championships

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

The Virginia men’s distance medley relay team of Wes Porter, Alex Sherman, Alex Leath and Yasin Sado finished third, while Gary Martin and Margot Appleton each punched their ticket to the finals of the men’s and women’s mile Saturday night at the TRACK at new balance in Boston, Mass.

Capping off a record setting season, the men’s distance medley relay team of Porter, Sherman, Leath and Sado finished third in a competitive field.

The quartet ran a time of 9:27.18 with Sado anchoring in 3:56.80 for 1600m. This marks the best finish by a men’s distance medley relay team at the Indoor NCAA Championship meet besting a sixth-place finish in the event in 2015.

Conor Murphy, Anna Workman, Martin and Appleton opened individual competition for the Cavaliers at the NCAA Championships, as Martin and Appleton each punched their ticket to the finals of the men’s and women’s mile Saturday night at the TRACK at new balance.

In the men’s mile prelims, Martin ran a tactical race to finish fourth in heat one and secure the final automatic qualifying spot. His time of 3:57.29 was the fourth-fastest time between the two preliminary heats. The Virginia record-holder has run four mile races this season, three of which have been below the four-minute barrier.

A battle to the finish in the women’s mile, Appleton secured an automatic bid finishing third in heat two. Running a strategic race, Appleton ran toward the back of the pack until the final two laps of the race when she made a surge to the front to contend for the lead.

The Virginia school record-holder closed in a 30-second final lap to cross the line in 4:35.58, with the top four finishers in the heat finished within 0.5 seconds of each other. In heat one, Workman clocked 4:36.71 in her first indoor national championship.

Appleton and Martin will enter a field of 10 runners Saturday in the finals of the men’s and women’s mile where an eighth-place finish or better will garner first team All-American honors. Appleton looks to better her fourth place in the event from a year ago.

FROM DIRECTOR OF TRACK AND FIELD VIN LANANNA

“The Division One NCAA Track & Field Championships is arguably one of the top two competitive indoor track events in the world. I am very proud of our milers and men’s distance medley relay.

“It was exciting to see Wes Porter, Alex Sherman, Alex Leath and Yasin Sado leave it all on the track and finish third in a DMR competitive field. Gary Martin and Margot Appleton have been great competitors all season and I am looking forward to the mile finals tomorrow.”

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Appleton and Martin will advance to the finals in the men’s and women’s mile Saturday, when the gun is set to go off at 4 p.m. ET (Martin) and 7 p.m. ET (Appleton).