April 21, 2012

The Virginia track and field teams concluded ACC Championship competition Saturday in day three of the event held at Lannigan Field. The Cavalier men took the third place with 113 points while the women earned their best finish since 1995, claiming second place.

"I couldn't be happier for our team," UVa head coach Bryan Fetzer said. "It was a fantastic atmosphere here at Lannigan Field and it was a collective team effort this weekend. We should expect to be in the top two or three teams in the conference every year and we're going to continue to work hard to achieve that and continue to improve as a program."

Senior Marcus Robinson took gold in the men's triple jump with a school record jump of 16.40m (53' 9.75") which is second-best in the nation this year. Robinson broke the record set by his high school coach Keith Witherspoon back in 1976.

Freshman thrower Nick Vena claimed two gold medals in his first conference championship meet, earning the title of ACC Men's Outdoor Most Valuable Field Performer. Vena won the discus with a throw of 54.84m (179'11"), the fifth best toss in school history. The freshman set a school record Friday in the shot put, winning with a throw of 19.51m (64'0.25"), the third best mark in the country.

Senior Lance Roller capped off his ACC career with a pair of first-place finishes Saturday in the 800 meters and 4x4 men's relay. It was Roller's second gold medal in the 800, where he finished with the eighth-fasted time in program history in 1:47.82.

"This is more than I could have imagined," said Roller. "The support of my teammates, just having everybody around me, they helped a lot."

Junior Morgane Gay finished the weekend with two silver medals, finishing the 1,500 meters in 4:26.14, and fin the 5,000 meters in 16:37.15. Senior Catherine White finished third behind Gay in the 5,000 after winning the 10,000 meters on Thursday.

"I just wanted to score one or two points because I knew there were a lot of girls in it," said Gay after the 5,000. " I was really surprised but I'm just really happy."

2012 ACC Champions
Women
Senior Catherine White - 10,000 meters
Senior Erin Wykoff - Discus Throw
Men
Senior Lance Roller (2) - 800 meters, 4x400 relay
Senior Marcus Robinson - Triple Jump
Freshman Nick Vena (2) - Shot Put, Discus
Senior Kevin Anding - 4x400 relay
Sophomore Ozzie Bryan - 4x400 relay
Freshman Payton Hazzard - 4x400 relay
Men's Most Valuable Field Performer
Freshman Nick Vena

Final Standings
Men
Virginia Tech - 153.5 points
Florida State - 149 points
Virginia - 113 points
North Carolina - 94.5
Clemson - 78 points
Duke - 59 points
NC State 58 points
Maryland - 31 points
Wake Forest - 28 points
Georgia Tech - 26 points
Miami - 22 points
Boston College - 4 points

Women
Clemson
Virginia - 100 points
Florida State - 75 points
Virginia Tech - 74 points
Duke - 74 points
North Carolina - 69 points
Miami - 61points
NC State - 58 points
Maryland - 49 points
Georgia Tech - 32 points
Boston College - 26 points
Wake Forest - 14 points

The Cavaliers return to action next weekend for the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Pa., April 26-28.