Friday at the Arkansas Qualifier in Fayetteville, Ark., Virginia track and field captured a legendary title — the NCAA record in the men’s distance medley relay. Graduate student Wes Porter, senior Alex Sherman, graduate student Conor Murphy and junior Gary Martin finished with a time of 9:14.19.
The 9:14.19 mark was set on a 200-meter track, which means that the Cavaliers’ time is a “record legal time.” Even though Washington posted a 9:14.10 mark earlier this season, the Huskies set their mark on an all-conditions track, and their running oval is oversized. Therefore, Virginia usurped the Huskies’ time on a technicality.
The previous record was set by Oklahoma State Feb. 17, 2023, with a time of 9:16.24. Virginia cleared that mark by two seconds.
Virginia’s time would have actually been a world record, but because Murphy is Irish while his fellow relay runners are American, the Cavaliers are not eligible. The current world record is 9:14.58, set Apr. 19, 2024 in Oregon.
In the men’s distance relay, teams of four runners compete in a 4,000-meter race. One runner has a 1,600-meter leg, another has a 1,200-meter leg and the other two have shorter distances — an 800-meter leg and a 400-meter leg.
Porter began the relay with a time of 2:50.51 on the 1200-meter leg, and Sherman blazed through the 400-meter leg in 46.65 seconds. Next, Murphy ran the 800-meter segment in 1:47.33. Martin, fresh off of running the second-fastest mile in NCAA history in the Millrose Games Feb. 8, closed out the relay with a 3:50.09 mark in the 1600-meter section.
In addition to the Arkansas Qualifier, Virginia track and field is also competing at the Virginia Tech Challenge in Blacksburg and the Terrier DMR Challenge in Boston this weekend. Yet, regardless of how the weekend ends, it will be difficult to top the tremendous achievement of breaking the men’s distance medley relay record.
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