Deaviz places fourth in shot put at NCAA Championships

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Maria Deaviz of the Virginia women’s track and field team put on a show at the opening day of the women’s competition at the NCAA Championships. The sophomore made UVA history in the shot put at historic Hayward Field on Thursday night in Eugene, Ore.

In 2021 Deaviz became just the sixth female Cavalier ever to compete in the shot put at the NCAA Championships. In her second-consecutive trip to Eugene, the sophomore had history on the mind once again.

Deaviz entered a loaded field of shot putters with a seed mark of 17.32 meters which stood as a UVA record at the beginning of the day. That school record fell with Deaviz’ first throw of the day as she shattered the mark reaching 17.97 meters (58’11.5”). On the NCAA’s biggest stage, Deaviz was not shaken by the moment. In fact, her performance reached a new level entirely as she surpassed her previous best on four out of her six total attempts (17.97m, 17.96m, 17.57m, 17.91m).

The sophomore placed fourth in the event, becoming the first-ever female Cavalier to claim first team All-American honors in the shot put. Deaviz was only bested by three throwers who all surpassed 18-meters. Ohio State’s Adelaide Aquilla won the event with a collegiate record 19.64-meter throw.

Deaviz concludes an outstanding sophomore campaign that saw her take down Virginia records in the shot put both indoors and outdoors while sweeping the ACC indoor and outdoor titles in the event.

Helena Lindsay made her NCAA Championships debut competing in the semifinals of the 3,000-meter steeplechase where she became just the fourth Cavalier to compete in the event at the NCAA Championships. Lindsay clocked a time of 10:14.78 to place 19th in the event.

Jada Seaman placed 23rd overall in the 200 meters with a time of 23.94.

From Director of Track & Field Vin Lananna:

“Maria is a ferocious competitor and we saw that on full display with her performance tonight. All-American status is an incredible accomplishment that is well deserved.”

UP NEXT

The Virginia men will be back in action Friday night, as Claudio Romero and Jacob Lemmon will each compete in the discus beginning at 8:35 p.m. ET (Watch Here), while Owayne Owens enters the triple jump competition at 9:20 ET (Watch Here). The men scored eight points on Wednesday thanks to Ethan Dabbs’ second-place finish in the javelin.