Virginia Sends Four Athletes to USA Track & Field Championships

The Virginia track & field team is sending four athletes to compete in the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships this weekend at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

Fifth-year Derek Johnson is competing in the 3000-meter steeplechase, an event in which he placed eighth at the NCAA Championships. Johnson, who also owns the UVA program record of 8:25.23 in the event, will race in the first round of the 3000-meter steeplechase on Thursday at 9:33pm ET. The finals are set for Saturday at 10:40pm ET.

Fifth-year Ethan Dabbs, who won his fourth-straight ACC title and finished as the runner up at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the men's javelin, comes into the weekend as the defending U.S. Champion in the event. That win sent Dabbs to the 2022 World Championships to represent the United States. The 2023 ACC and USTFCCCA Regional Field Athlete of the Year will look to repeat as U.S. Champion in the men's javelin on Saturday at 8:50pm ET.

While Johnson and Dabbs are competing in the senior division, UVA freshmen Justin Rogers and Tyler Zawatski will be competing in the U20 Division.

Rogers competed in the pole vault at the 2022 U20 Championships and won the title with a jump of 5.35 meters. After a solid freshman campaign that saw him place third at the ACC Indoor Championships and seventh at the ACC Outdoor Championships, Rogers will look to defend his U20 title in the pole vault on Saturday at 3:30pm ET.

Zawatski, meanwhile, will compete in the U20 men's javelin. In his freshman season, Zawatski progressed throughout the season and recorded a personal record 64.70 meters at the ACC Championships, notching a seventh-place finish and securing a spot in the NCAA first round. Zawatski will compete in the U20 javelin on Saturday at 3:30pm ET as well.

All of the events of the 2023 USATF Championships will be broadcast on CNBC, the NBC Sports app, NBCSports.com, and Peacock.

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