CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia men’s and women’s track and field teams are set to travel to State College, Pa. to compete at the Penn State National meet on Friday (Jan. 27) and Saturday (Jan. 28) at the Multi-Sport Facility Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Track as six Cavaliers return to their home state for the competition.
How to Follow
The meet will be available to be live streamed with a subscription to Big Ten Plus. Fans can follow the action through a live results link posted to VirginiaSports.com. Live updates will also be posted to the team’s official Twitter account (@UVAtfcc).
Hoos in the Rankings
The initial USTFCCCA Track and Field Ranking Index was released on Monday (Jan. 23) and the Virginia women find themselves ranked No. 22 in the season’s first rankings. The men begin the season outside the top-25.
The ACC is tied for second on both the men’s and women’s sides with four teams ranked in the initial top-25.
Last Time Out
Alix Still turned in an impressive performance in the Pentathlon. With personal-best marks in both the shot put and 800-meters, Still posted a point total of 4,083. The total was the highest of her career and ranks third all-time at Virginia. This season, Still’s Pentathlon mark ranks second in the ACC and fifth in the NCAA.
Peter Djan continued his consistent start to his first collegiate season. Djan put his name on Virginia’s all-time performance list in the 60-meter hurdles after his first-ever collegiate appearance. Since then, Djan has continued to improve as he ran a personal-best 8.05 at the Virginia Tech Invitational.
Pennsylvania Homecomings
Esther Seeland is expected to run her first 800-meter race as a Cavalier, when she makes the trip back to her hometown of State College, Pa. As a middle-distance runner at Messiah College, Seeland was a three-time NCAA Division III champion, twice winning the 800-meter crown. Seeland currently holds the NCAA Division III record in the 800 meters (2:05.39).
Gary Martin, a native of Warminster, Pa., is also expected to compete in the 800-meters for the first time in his collegiate career. An impressive high school miler who ran the fourth-fastest high school mile in U.S. history, Martin was also a Pennsylvania state champion in the 800-meters and holds the third-fastest time in Pennsylvania state history in the event.
Four more Cavaliers are set to compete in their home state including Ethan Robinosn (heptathlon), Justin Rogers (pole vault),