For the Virginia track and field team, the concept of "home advantage" likely is more loaded then for any other varsity squad at the University. While most teams split their schedules between contests in Charlottesville and those on the road, members of the track and field team have come to behold the home field advantage of Lannigan Field as a strictly annual event.
The nine-lane track -- which also boasts a water jump used in the steeple chase, an all-weather coating and stadium lights as of the spring of 2002 -- greatly improved the state of the Virginia track and field program in 1971. Prior to that date, the Cavaliers called Lambeth field "home." But as the result of an initiative spearheaded by two former Virginia track standouts, Ed Hardy and Vincent Derr, Virginia received a new facility. The pair started a committee, headed by Bernard Chamberlain, Robert Gooch and Pete Delaney, which found the funds to make the new facility possible and gave momentum to the next generation of Virginia track and field athletes.
Yet it is these athletes that are still stingingly aware that their sport lacks the media hype and public attention that is lavished on sports like basketball and football.
"Track is not a much-publicized sport," senior pole vaulter Vika Osipenko said. "And in the past years many people did not even realize that we have a home track meet."
But for those devout fans that do follow the Virginia track and field team, a crowd which is constantly increasing in size, this year's home meet, held last weekend, was key to the Cavaliers' season. The timing -- right before the ACC Championships -- and outcome of the meet overshadowed its humble status.
The Cavaliers hosted the Lou Onesty/Milton Abraham Invitational and took advantage of the opportunity to show off their facility en route to picking up decisive wins on the men's and women's sides.
Coach Randy Bungard takes days like Saturday for what they are worth: a fine time in Charlottesville.
"It's just great to come out and watch the track meets on a nice day," Bungard said. "We love it, we love being at home."
Yet for Virginia, the home win was made even sweeter by the presence of the athletes' friends and family.
"It's always fun to compete at home because so many more of our friends and family can come and watch," Osipenko said of Lannigan's accessibility to their fans.
For athletes and spectators alike, Lannigan Field provides an ideal environment for a team as humbly successful as the Cavaliers.
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