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Friday, April 6, 2012

Track and Field Contact: Tom Fenstermaker

 

Laffan, Chiariello Break Hammer Throw Records at Liberty Invitational

White breaks Colonial Relays and Zable Stadium records in womenÂ’s 5,000 meters

 

WILLIAMSBURG, Va.—Seniors Maureen Laffan (Toms River, N.J.) and Vincenzo Chiariello (Staten Island, N.Y.) broke the program records in the hammer throw as the Virginia men’s and women’s outdoor track and field teams completed action at day one of both the 47th Colonial Relays in Williamsburg, Va., and the Liberty Collegiate Invitational in Lynchburg, Va.

 

“From top to bottom, from here (Williamsburg) to Liberty, we couldn’t ask for much more of a confidence booster getting ready for ACCs,” director of track and field/cross country Bryan Fetzer said. “From what our men and women did in the 5K’s tonight, to the school records in the hammer throw, to the continued improvement of our hurdlers making two finals in a row, we have a ton of momentum coming into Track-Ville in two weeks.”

 

Laffan broke her own school mark with her first throw of 58.70m (192’ 7”) and then launched the hammer three feet further, hitting a mark of 59.62m (195’ 7”). She placed first in the competition, while senior Erin Wykoff (St. Jacob, Ill) placed fifth with a distance of 53.38m (175’ 1”), the third-best mark in program history.

 

Chiariello has broken the men’s school mark in the hammer throw for the third meet in a row, this time with a distance of 62.06m (203’ 7”) in his only successful throw, to place first. Sophomore James Fuson (Glen Allen, Va.) placed fourth with a mark of 54.64m (179’ 3”).

 

At the Colonial Relays, senior Catherine White (Roanoake, Va.) won the womenÂ’s 5,000 meters in a time of 16:04.58, a new Zable Stadium and Colonial Relays record. It is also the third-fastest time in school history.

 

Redshirt freshman Chelsea Ley (Woolwich Township, N.J.) placed fourth in 16:12.62, the fourth-fastest time in school history and a UVa freshman record.

 

In the menÂ’s 5,000 meters, junior Sean Keveren (Brentwood, Tenn.) set the second-fastest time in school history and claimed gold in a time of 13:48, a US Olympic Trial provisional time.

 

Freshman Kyle King (Yorktown, Va.) finished fifth in 13:55.60, a new Virginia freshman record, the fourth-fastest all-time mark at UVa and a World Junior Championships standard time.

 

Freshman Payton Hazzard (Huntington, N.Y.) finished third in the menÂ’s 400 meters with a time of 48.32, a new PR, while in the womenÂ’s 400-meter hurdles, senior Meagan Gillespie (Brooklyn, N.Y.) crossed the line third in 1:03.14.

 

In the womenÂ’s 200 meters, freshman Jordan Lavender (Nashville, Tenn.) and junior Danielle Williams (Alexandria, Va.) came in third and fourth in times of 24.19 and 24.32, respectively. LavenderÂ’s time is the third-best freshman time in school history.

 

Both sophomore Aaron Shepperd (Washington, D.C.) and freshman Devin Brewer (Dumfries, Va.) qualified for the two-heat final in the menÂ’s 110-meter hurdles in times of 14.55 and 14.59, respectively. Brewer also finished fifth in the menÂ’s 400-meter hurdles in 53.48, the fifth-fastest time in Virginia freshman history.

 

In the womenÂ’s 800 meters, redshirt freshman Vanessa Fabrizio (Denver, Colo.) used a late kick to win her heat and place sixth overall in 2:09.71.

 

Junior Patrick Todd (Highland Park, Texas) won his heat and finished seventh overall in the menÂ’s 800 meters in a time of 1:52.93, while freshman Jake Brown (Fredericksburg, Va.) crossed the line first in his heat in come-from-behind fashion in 1:55.15.

 

In her first time competing in the womenÂ’s 3,000-meter steeplechase, senior Chelsea France (Dublin, Ohio) placed seventh in a time of 10:50.57.

 

Also at Liberty, after five events, freshman Alex Mulchandani (Potomac, Md.) is ranked fifth in the decathlon with 2,965 points.

 

In the women’s javelin, sophomore Abbey Karin (Byfield, Mass.) won with a mark of 43.09m (141’ 4”), the sixth-best mark in school history.

 

The action in Williamsburg and Lynchburg continues tomorrow at 9 a.m. The Cavaliers host the ACC Outdoor Championships April 19-21 at newly renovated Lannigan Field.