The men and women's track and field teams will compete at the only home meet of the season this weekend. Virginia hosts 18 teams in the Lou Onesty/Milton G. Abramson Invitational at Lannigan Field. The meet begins with the hammer Friday, April 11 at 3:00 p.m., and the rest of the competition continuing Saturday, April 12 at 10:00 a.m. With ACC Championships just a week away, the Cavaliers plan on a strong showing both Friday and Saturday.
Pole-vault school record holder, Vika Osipenko said she sets her hopes high for Saturday.
"My ultimate goal would be to jump 13 feet or higher," she said. "We have so many people who have already qualified for the NCAA regional meet it would be great to see some support from other students at U.Va."
Both the men and women's teams have their share of NCAA qualifiers eager for their chance to compete against other Regional qualifiers from schools like Virginia Tech, Georgetown, William and Mary, and James Madison.
Coach Randy Bungard expects good things from his sprinters.
"Kiamesha [Otey] is a good example: she won the 60-meter indoor and came out and ran a personal best in the 200," Bungard said. "The indoor season made her more hungry for the outdoor season."
Otey is regionally qualified for both the 100m and the long jump, two events which she won last year at ACCs.
Other outstanding women include Eliese Mitchell, who has qualified regionally in the hammer, shot put and discus. Mitchell, who holds school records in the discus, and hammer throw, will showcase her talent at home Friday and Saturday.
Distance runner Dawn Cleary leads the ACC in the 3000-meter steeplechase with a regionally qualifying time of 10:18.87. Jane Maxwell also goes the distance with a 10K time of 35:12.25. Preparing for her first home meet, first-year Rachel Marks leads the women's team in high jump with a height of 1.70m.
The Cavalier men also have many qualifiers ready to compete this weekend. Sprinter Scott Kimball is ranked in ACC's top five in both the 100 and 200-meter events. Some of his other ranked teammates include Brain Kollar with a 66.67-meter javelin throw, and Matt Ruhl in both the 5000 and 3000-meter steeplechase.
Alongside their older teammates, freshmen Kellen Blassingame and David Sullivan have also made their presence known this season. Blassingame leads the team in the 400-meter dash.
"One of our biggest contributors right now is a freshman, David Sullivan," Bungard said. "He's an in-state guy out of Centreville. He does the pole vault, but he's real good at the decathlon too. Gemayel Hazard has also stepped up."
Hazard took fourth at ACC's last year with a 14.47 in the 110-meter high hurdles.
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