WVU Closes Successful Weekend at Virginia

Saturday, April 21

Charlottesville, Va.

10:30 a.m.

West Virginia University

Virginia Challenge

Photo by: PrettySporty/Cheryl Treworgy

April 21, 2018 09:32 PM | Track & Field

By: Joe Mitchin

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University track and field team concluded competition at the Virginia Challenge, in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Saturday.

Results

Redshirt senior Amy Cashin paced the Mountaineers with a second-place finish in the women's 1,500 meters invitational, registering a time of 4:20.29. The Werribee, Victoria, Australia, native earned one of the team's six top-eight finishes on the final day of the two-day meet at Virginia's Lannigan Field.

"After watching Amy's 1,500 tonight, it's very obvious she is back to her indoor shape," WVU coach Sean Cleary said. "I was especially pleased that she was able to handle the tactical nature of tonight's race and kick as well as she ever has over the last lap.

"It was exciting to see Amy, Maddie (Gardner) and Danique (Bryan) all in uniform together this weekend and progressing in the right direction as we get closer to the championship season. I was very proud of the team for being able to turn around so quickly after getting back from Bucknell in the early hours last Monday and compete in such a big invitational on Friday and Saturday. It'll be nice to get back into town and have a little more time to recover and train before hitting the road for next week's competition."

Along with Cashin, redshirt freshman Sarah Wills took second place in the women's 1,500 meters (unseeded), earning a personal-best time of 4:32.71, while redshirt senior Rebecca Wendt took eighth in the women's 800 meters in 2:15.26.

WVU also secured a pair of top-eight finishes in Saturday's field events. Junior Faith Penny tied for second in the women's high jump, recording a mark of 1.61 meters (5 feet, 3.25 inches). In the women's long jump invitational, junior Danique Bryan took seventh with a mark of 5.79 meters (19 feet).

"While Danique may not be exactly where she wants to be at this point in the year, the coaching staff is pleased with the progression she has made over the last two weeks," Cleary said. "We expect her to be fully prepared to equal the best performances of her life over the next month."

Additionally, freshman McKenna Smith competed in the women's 200 meters on Saturday, finishing in 14th place in 24.53. Redshirt sophomore Candace Jones joined Cashin in the women's 1,500 meters invitational, taking 23rd in a personal-best time of 4:26.64.

Redshirt senior Meghan Jean-Baptiste also finished the final three events of the heptathlon. She placed fifth in the long jump (5.51 meters – 18 feet, 1 inch), eighth in the 800 meters (2:49.29) and 11th in the javelin (19.34 meters – 63 feet, 5.50 inches). Jean-Baptiste finished seventh in the overall competition with 4,388 points.

WVU enjoyed a record-breaking day on Friday at the Virginia Challenge. Redshirt junior Madelin Gardner shattered her previous WVU-best in the women's pole vault invitational, earning a mark of 4.41 meters (14 feet, 5.50 inches) in a second-place finish. Gardner took down her former Mountaineer record of 4.13 meters from 2017, as well as the previous meet and facility records.

Gardner cleared marks of 3.86, 4.01, 4.11, 4.21 and 4.31 meters before her final successful jump of 4.41 meters.

"Maddie was exceptional in the pole vault, breaking the school record three times," Cleary said. "We're excited that she has turned things around quickly and has sufficient time to now train for the Big 12 Championship and NCAAs."

Other notable Friday performances included Bryan's fifth-place finish in the women's triple jump invitational (12.58 meters – 41 feet, 3.25 inches), as well as redshirt senior Jillian Forsey's eighth-place finish in the women's 10,000 meters (35:21.96) in her 2017-18 season debut. Freshman Ellie Gardner took second in the women's pole vault (unseeded), jumping 3.71 meters (12 feet, 2 inches).

The Mountaineers finished with 11 top-10 performances on the weekend.

WVU was joined by over 50 schools at the Virginia Challenge this weekend, including No. 15 Tennessee, No. 23 Miami (Fla.), Georgetown, Maryland, Michigan State, Navy, NC State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Penn State, Pitt, Syracuse, Temple, Wake Forest and others.

Next up, West Virginia returns to Charlottesville on Saturday, April 28, as the Mountaineers compete in the Virginia Grand Prix.

For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.