ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Virginia’s Margot Appleton, Conor Murphy and Alix Still opened competition at the NCAA Championships as Appleton and Murphy each booked their places in the finals of the men’s and women’s mile tomorrow night (March 11) at the Albuquerque Convention Center.
In the women’s mile prelims, Margot Appleton booked her place in tomorrow’s finals. Running as the lowest seed in the competition, Appleton engineered an impressive final lap as she went from seventh place into fourth to secure the final automatic qualifying spot posting a time of 4:42.10. Appleton will enter a field of 10 runners tomorrow in the finals of the women’s mile where an eighth-place finish or better will mark her second consecutive season with first team All-American honors.
OH MY GOODNESS, MARGOT 👀🔥
An unbelievable bell lap secures automatic qualification for the women’s mile finals tomorrow ✅#GoHoos⚔️ pic.twitter.com/WLP2jz4Hu1
— Virginia Track & Field and Cross Country (@UVATFCC) March 10, 2023
Murphy got out early in his race and established himself amongst the leaders of the pack. The Virginia record holder and ACC silver medalist fought off a surging pack on the final straightaway to clock the third-fastest qualifying time of 4:03.01. He positions himself in tomorrow’s field of 10 where he will look to earn All-American honors for the first time in his career. Murphy is just the second-ever Cavalier to compete in the event. The last Virginia runner to compete in the mile at the NCAA Indoor Championships was Henry Wynne who won the title in 2016.
Another Wahoo in the mile finals 🔥
You’ll be seeing more of Conor Murphy tomorrow 😎#GoHoos⚔️ pic.twitter.com/VDwGo71Tas
— Virginia Track & Field and Cross Country (@UVATFCC) March 11, 2023
An outstanding campaign in the pentathlon came to a close for Alix Still. The UVA veteran finished 14th in the event with a point total of 4034 to earn second-team All-American status. Still earned the honor for the second time in her career after first achieving the feat in 2021. In her best season to date, Still set a Virginia record and the Scottish national record at the ACC Championships (Feb. 23). Still finished second at the ACC Championships, trailing only Notre Dame’s Jadin O’Brien. O’Brien claimed the NCAA title with a collegiate record total of 4512.
From Director of Track and Field Vin Lananna:
“I am very proud of our milers. They have been consistently great…