This weekend is Virginia's last chance to fine tune its competitive edge before heading to the ACC Indoor Championships next weekend.
The Cavaliers will be traveling to Blacksburg each of the next two weekends -- the ACCs will be held there, as well as this weekend's Virginia Tech Challenge.
"The purpose of this meet is to serve as a tune-up for the ACC Championships next weekend at Virginia Tech," coach Randy Bungard said. "Also, it is an opportunity for those athletes that are on the bubble for making the trip to the ACCs to prove to us that they are ready to compete on that level."
For the athletes who have already secured a spot at the ACC Championships, this meet presents an opportunity to improve individual times and also receive better placement at the tournament.
"For some of the distance guys this meet is important to get a good time so that they can be seeded into the fast section at ACCs," Bungard said. "You have to have a time that is in the top 16 to get into the fast section. Usually the scorers come out of there."
Five other ACC teams -- Duke, North Carolina, NC State, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest -- will also be competing this weekend down in Blacksburg. This meet will, therefore, provide an excellent opportunity for Virginia to scope out the ACC competition and see where it stands.
"We are anticipating this meet because it gives us a good idea of where we are," Bungard said. "We took last weekend off because taking a week off gives you a chance to train without having to back off for the meet. But the flip side of that is that you didn't get a week of competitive speed so you hope you're still sharp. We will be able to tell after this weekend."
Senior Kellen Blassingame is currently ranked third in the ACC conference in the 400-meter event. Because Virginia does not have an indoor track, the team uses meets as an opportunity not only for competition but also for conditioning.
According to his coach, this final 400-meter race before the ACCs will be quite beneficial for Blassingame. He will also run the 200-meter as part of his speed training.
"I think I will be able to break my previous 400m records," Blassingame said. "I am definitely trying to be the first person in U.Va. history to break 46 seconds in the 400m."
The Cavaliers began the 2006 season at Virginia Tech in January. At the Virginia Tech Invitational, Virginia swept the men's and women's four by 800-meter relays.
The team last saw action at the Liberty Invitational Feb. 4. The men's four by 800-meter relay team placed first and Robert Assibey took home the gold in the long jump.
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