// FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE //

February 11, 2012

Track and Field contact: Tom Fenstermaker

 

Web link: http://www.virginiasports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=17800&ATCLID=205378042

 

VirginiaÂ’s Gay Qualifies for NCAAs in WomenÂ’s Mile

Amirault, Robinson break school records in menÂ’s 3,000 meters, triple jump

 

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.—Junior Morgane Gay (Bethesda, Md.) qualified for the NCAA Championships in the women’s mile and seniors Marcus Robinson (Richmond, Va., triple jump) and Mark Amirault (Walpole, Mass., men’s 3,000 meters) broke school records as the Virginia men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams completed action at the FloTrack Husky Classic in Seattle, Wash., and the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark.

 

“I’m very proud of how our student-athletes performed today,” director of track and field/cross country Bryan Fetzer said. “They really accepted the challenge of these two great meets and took full advantage of the opportunities they were presented with.”

 

At the Tyson Invitational, Robinson continued his stellar senior campaign, winning the triple jump at the Tyson with a school-record leap of 16.63m (54’6.75”). His winning mark, which was Robinson’s sixth and final attempt of the day, currently ranks first in NCAA Division I and ninth in the IAAF world rankings.

 

“I couldn’t be happier for Marcus,” Virginia jumps coach Michael Eskind said. “He’s an incredible young man who has been working very hard on the track, in the classroom and in the training room with our amazing medical staff. For him to jump that far on the biggest stage bodes very well for the rest of the season. It couldn’t have happened to a better young man.”

 

Across the country at the FloTrack Husky Classic, Gay qualified for the NCAA Championships in the women’s mile, finishing seventh in the invitational heats in 4:34.38, the second-fastest time in school history. She missed the ‘Hoo record, held by Jill Haworth, by six one-hundredths of a second.

 

“Morgane’s a great competitor and finished well today,” women’s distance coach Todd Morgan said. “This is something we can move forward with and really build on.”

 

Amirault, who was a second-team All-American last year for Princeton in the outdoor 5,000 meters, finished the menÂ’s 3,000 meters in a time of 7:54.08, good enough for 10th place. He broke the previous record of 7:54.90, set by Kris Herdt in 1987.

 

In the menÂ’s mile, junior Patrick Todd (Highland Park, Texas) made his season debut and finished 13th overall in the invitational heats in a time of 4:02.70, the second-fastest mark in Virginia history, while sophomore Anthony Kostelac (Charlottesville, Va.) used a big kick to win his heat in 4:02.99, good enough for the fifth-best all-time in Cavalier history.

 

Freshman Nick Vena (Morristown, N.J.) won the men’s shot put with a season-best throw of 18.45m (60’6.50”), the second-best mark in ‘Hoo history. Five of Vena’s six attempts surpassed his previous season-best mark (57’6.25”).

 

Fellow freshman Kyle King (Yorktown, Va.) placed second in his 3,000-meter heat and finished seventh overall in a personal-best time of 8:14.42, the ninth-fastest time in school history. In the menÂ’s mile, freshman Ed Schrom (Harrisburg, Pa.) crossed the line second in his heat with a PR of 4:07.99.

 

Also at the Tyson Invitational, junior Lance Roller (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.) placed eighth in the Olympic Development 800 meters menÂ’s race in 1:50.18, while sophomore Vanessa Fabrizio (Denver, Colo.) finished ninth in the womenÂ’s race with a time of 2:09.76.

 

The Cavaliers return to action Feb. 23-25 for the ACC Indoor Championships in Boston.