Virginia Athletics
Virginia Wins Five ACC Titles at ACC Outdoor Track & Field Championships
The Virginia men's and women's track & field teams won five ACC titles and delivered 22 All-ACC performances this weekend at the 2023 ACC Outdoor Track & Field Championships at NC State's Paul Derr Track in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The UVA men were in a heated battle for the ACC team title as competition came to a close on Saturday and ended up placing third with 89.5 points, just 2.5 points behind the ACC Champions Clemson. The Cavalier women placed fifth with 76.5 points.
Ethan Dabbs headlined Virginia's weekend achievements in Raleigh as he became the first athlete to ever win four ACC men's javelin titles. It was his first throw of the day that earned Dabbs the win as his mark of of 73.09 meters was enough to claim first place. Dabbs also became just the 12th competitor to win four ACC titles in any men's event.
Friday night saw UVA's Nate Mountain and Derek Johnson place first and second in the men's 3000-meter steeplechase. Mountain set a personal-best with a time of 8:32.05, the second-fastest time in program history, while Johnson, who holds the all-time record time of 8:28.72 set back in 2021, finished runner-up in 8:33.82. Fellow Cavalier Yasin Sado placed fifth in 8:42.48 as UVA won 22 total points from the event. Johnson and Mountain both earned First-Team All-ACC selections for the first time in their careers, while Sado earned an All-ACC Second-Team selection.
Also on Friday, Owayne Owens won his second ACC Outdoor title in the men's triple jump and his fourth-career gold medal combined between the indoor and outdoor seasons. Owens has now won gold in the triple jump at the 2021 ACC Indoor Championships, the 2021 ACC Outdoor Championships, the 2022 ACC Indoor Championships, and the 2023 ACC Outdoor Championships. Owens surpassed Miami's Russell Robinson's leading mark of 16.60 meters with a leap of 16.61 meters in his third attempt to take home the title.
On the final day of competition on Saturday, Virginia's team of Kayla Bonnick, Jada Seaman, Jada Pierre, and Sarah Akpan won the women's 4x100 meters, Virginia's first ACC title in the event since 1995. The Cavaliers finished with a time of 43.71 seconds, breaking the UVA program record, which was set back in 2021 by a team that also featured Bonnick and Seaman.
Virginia then went 1-3 in the women's 1500 meters as Margot Appleton placed first with a time of 4:18.58, becoming the second Cavalier in the last three seasons to win the ACC title in the event, joining Michaela Meyer (2021). Esther Seeland placed third with a time of 4:16.82, earning her second First-Team All-ACC selection of the season after finishing second in the women's 800 meters at ACC Indoors in February. The placements of Appleton and Seeland earned 18 points for the Cavalier women.
Other All-ACC selections include Sam Romano, who placed third in the women's pole vault and broke her own UVA freshman record with a mark of 4.28 meters, earning First-Team All-ACC honors. Hanne Borstlap set a personal-best in the women's pole vault with a mark of 4.18 meters, finishing fifth and earning a Second-Team All-ACC selection.
John Fay earned Second-Team All-ACC honors in the hammer throw and Ethan Robinson placed fourth and earned Second-Team All-ACC in the decathlon. Derek Johnson, who also earned First-Team All-ACC honors for his runner-up finish in the steelpechase, added another podium finish and another First-Team All-ACC selection in the 5000-meters, placing third. Jack Eliason finished fourth in the 5000-meters to earn Second-Team All-ACC.
Ashley Anumba earned a silver medal in the women's , earning First-Team All-ACC honors for the second-straight season. Alex Sherman placed third in the men's 400 hurdles to earn a First-Team selection. Jordan Hardy added a sixth place finish in the triple jump to earn Second-Team All-ACC honors.
Alix Still placed fifth in the women's heptathlon and Ethan Robinson was fourth in the men's decathlon. Both Still and Robinson were Second-Team All-ACC selections.
Conor Murphy was a two-time All-ACC Second Team selection in the 1500 and 800, while Kenton Bachmann earned Second-Team honors in the 800.
Sarah Akpan and Kayla Bonnick earned Second-Team selections in the women's 100-meter and Jada Seaman was a Second-Team honoree in the long jump.
Another highlight of the meet was Demick Starling, a wide receiver on the Virginia football team, turning in the third-fastest time in Virginia history in the 100-meter dash, finishing in 10.46 seconds.
This weekend's competition also marked the official conclusion of the 2022-2023 Commonwealth Clash between Virginia and Virginia Tech. The Cavaliers had already clinched this year's Clash by finishing above the Hokies at the ACC Men's Golf Championships on April 23rd. Virginia and Virginia Tech split the two points from the ACC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, with the UVA men (3rd) placing above the Virginia Tech men (5th) and the Hokie women (2nd) finishing above the Cavalier women (5th). That makes the final score of the 2022-2023 Commonwealth Clash 12-9 in favor of Virginia. See the full list of events and scores for the 2022-2023 Commonwealth Clash here.
To stay up to date on all Virginia Cavaliers sports news, follow CavaliersNow on social media:
Facebook: @CavaliersNow
Twitter: @CavaliersNowFN