Virginia\'s David Sullivan smashed his own school record in the pole vault with a leap of 5.30m, hitting the NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the process and taking second place at the Virginia Tech Challenge today in Blacksburg. Sullivan, who set the school record last year with a 5.20m, was one of a handful of Cavaliers who hit personal best and season best marks this weekend, a tune-up for next week\'s ACC Championships.
Virginia head track and field coach Randy Bungard has announced that five athletes have signed National Letters of Intent and will look to compete for the Virginia track and field program as part of the Class of 2009. The five combined have won numerous state championships and look to help continue the solid tradition of the Cavalier track and field program.
Virginia cross country athletes Emily Harrison and Soeren Lindner both competed at the NCAA Cross Country Championships today in rain-soaked Terre Haute, Indiana. The trip to the collegiate national championships was the first for both harriers. The Wabash Family Sports Center had been drenched with a couple days of rain, making for a sloppy, slow course. Harrison, running in her first year, took 109th in a time of 22:02 over the 6K, while Lindner, a second-year, ran 33:45 over 10K and finished 201st.
Virginia's Emily Harrison was the first rookie across the tape, earning All-Regional honors along with teammate Shannon Hawrylo as the Cavaliers took fifth place at the NCAA Southeast Regional meet on Saturday (Nov. 13). Three men also earned All-Regional honors as Soeren Lindner and Will Christian both finished in the top-10 and Ryan Foster ran third for the Cavaliers, taking 17th overall as the men finished fourth as a team.
The Virginia men\'s and women\'s cross country teams will compete at the NCAA Southeast Regional meet this Saturday (Nov. 13) in Greenville, N.C. on the Lake Kristi course. The women\'s 6K race will start at 11:00 am while the men\'s 10K race will start approximately at 12:15. Both squads have been to the national meet in recent years, and the men look to return after last year\'s berth while the women are looking to return after a one-year hiatus.
Virginia\'s Will Christian and Emily Harrison earned All-ACC honors with top-10 finishes at the ACC Cross Country Championships, leading the men to a third-place finish with an upset of Duke while the women finished fifth overall, up one place from last year. The men upset #26 Duke and also finished ahead of Clemson, who received votes in the last poll.
The Virginia men\'s and women\'s cross country teams competed at the NCAA Pre-Nationals meet held at Indiana State University today. Will Christian led the men\'s team while first-year Emily Harrison led the women with a top-25 finish. Harrison finished 25th with a 21:17.2 while Christian just nipped teammate Alex Tatu by 2.5 seconds, finishing with a 24:57.4.
Virginia's McGavock Dunbar earned a second consecutive All-ACC designation with his third place finish in the 800m today, running a 1:53.90, just .01 out of second place. He then ran the anchor leg of the 1600-meter relay team , helping the Cavaliers to a second-place finish in a season-best time of 3:15.70. Overall, the Hoos finished sixth with 35 points.
The University of Virginia men\'s cross country team finished 30th at the NCAA Cross Country National Championships held today at the Irv Warren Memoria Golf Course in Waterloo, Iowa. The event was hosted by the University of Northern Iowa. The Cavaliers, competing in the NCAA meet for the first time since 1984, were led by Will Christian, who finished 130th overall in a 31:26.1.
Virginia's Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Randy Bungard has announced that four athletes have signed national letters of intent to attend the University of Virginia. All four have won individual titles at their state meets, including two from the Commonwealth of Virginia. Jennifer Beury, Jannea Bridgeford, Sara Ensrud, and Emily Harrison form the core of "a strong class that will help build up our current program tremendously," according to Coach Bungard.
The Virginia men's cross country team finished third at the ACC Cross Country Championships for the second consecutive year, led in 2003 by All-ACC performer Will Christian, who finished third overall.
Virginia\'s McGavock Dunbar took the lead with 200 meters to go in the finals of the 800m run and held on to win his second ACC title today in Chapel Hill with a 1:52.18, helping the Cavaliers take fourth place as a team in the ACC Indoor Track and Field Championships. The fourth-place finish ties the 2005 team with the highest finish in school history, which they last achieved in 1991.