In a meet used as a gauge of the team's overall condition heading into next week's ACC Championships, both the Cavalier men's and women's track and field teams took first place at this Saturday's Lou Onesty/Milton G. Abramson Invitational. The men won five event titles on their way to 128 points, 37 more than second place Rutgers, while the women won four events and finished with 132 points, also 37 points ahead of their closest competition, Howard University.
"It was exactly what we were looking for the week before" the conference championship, assistant coach Jason Dunn said. "We are just trying to get a good meet to be really tuned up and ready to go for next weekend."
The men were able to dominate the middle distance events with senior McGavock Dunbar and freshman Alex Tatu winning the 800-meter and 1,500-meter events, respectively. Dunbar's time of 1:49.72 qualified him for the NCAA regional tournament while Tatu's 3:49.26 was a personal best and one of the top five times in the ACC this season. Both Zach Davis and Matt Antunes had season-best times in the 800, and Will Christian and Ryan Neuhart set personal season marks in the 1,500.
"A lot of the guys were in the same heat so we were all pulling for each other," Tatu said. "A lot of us [set personal records], so it shows we are capable. We are going to run well at the ACC meet."
The other winners on the men's side included sophomore David Sullivan in the pole vault, sophomore Walker Anderson in the hammer throw and the 4x400 meter relay team of seniors Dunbar, Jason Young and Herb Reid and sophomore Kellen Blassingame. Sullivan's vault of 16'11" was both a personal and outdoor school record and qualified him for the NCAA Regionals. The 4x400 meter time of 3:13.30 was a season best for the group.
The Cavalier women were just as dominant, winning four events, two of which they also took second place in. Freshman Erin Crawford won the 400 intermediate hurdles with a time of 1:01.89, senior Inge Jorgensen threw 171'9" in winning the javelin event and senior Melanie Matthews and junior Shannon Hawrylo finished in the top two spots in the steeplechase with times of 10:56.90 and 11:21.10. Matthews qualified for the NCAA Regionals with her time in the steeplechase and Jorgensen's distance was her best of the season.
Additional winners included freshman Meggie Schuelke and sophomore Rachel Marks, who finished first and second in the high jump with heights of 5'7", with Schuelke taking the advantage based on number of jumps.
Senior Caroline Harvey also turned in a strong performance finishing second in the 100 meter at 12.12 seconds, third in the long jump with a distance of 18'11.75" and fourth in the 200 meter with a time of 24.73. Harvey's performances in the long jump and the 200 meter were both the best marks for a Cavalier this season.
After a strong performance in their only home meet of the season, the Cavaliers appear ready for this weeks' ACC tournament.
"We are going to do as well at the conference meet as our guys step up to perform," head coach Randy Bungard said. "If they step up and do what they are capable of doing we will finish really well."
With strong performances from the women's side to complement a well-rounded men's squad, the Cavaliers just might have what it takes to turn some heads in the ACC.
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