The dream season for UVA junior Henry Wynne continued last Friday evening, as the NCAA mile champ opened up his outdoor campaign with a decisive 1500 meter win over a star studded field at the Florida Relays.  His 3:38.35 clocking obliterated a 33 year old school record, finally knocking John Hinton's 3:40.24 (1983) down a peg after so many great Cavalier milers have just missed that mark in the last decade.  It was an emphatic run by Wynne, and one that probably even surprised his coaches a bit, as to run so fast in March is a tremendous sign for what could follow later this spring and summer.  The only possible negative about the whole evening is that Wynne JUST missed the Olympic Trials standard of 3:38.00, a mark that he will undoubtedly notch in the coming months.

Looking ahead, that 3:38.00 OT standard as well as the 13:37.44 (Kris Herdt, 1987) 5,000 meter school record have to be in the sights of Wynne and the coaching staff as the tall, lanky CT native (he ran right around 9:00 for 2 miles in high school) is certainly more of a mile/5K runner than a true middle distance specialist.  Even more importantly, the series of victories that he is racking up must be immense fuel for his confidence and his ability to look at any runner in the NCAA and feel like he can beat them.  Honestly, Oregon's Edward Cheserek, owner of more than a dozen NCAA titles, looks like the only runner in the entire NCAA right now that is "better" than Wynne, and even he should take notice as his time could soon come too.

On the horizon, UVA will host two home meets this weekend...a small, quad meet with Maryland, Penn & Columbia on Friday afternoon and the larger Lou Onesty Invitational on Saturday.  The weather for both looks chilly and windy, certainly not very conducive to fast marks, but nevertheless area fans should be excited to see the Hoos compete at home for the first time this year.  Rumors are that Henry will toe the line in the 5K on Saturday evening along with most of the Cavalier distance crew, and although a crack at the 13:37 school record is probably too much to ask for at this small meet, it will still be nice to see the NCAA mile champ race on his home track.

Both meets are free and open to the public.  The Friday Quad will run from 6:00-8:30pm and Saturday's Invite will run from 3:00-9:00pm.  The aforementioned Men's 5K is at 8:00pm.

The press release from UVA says it all, but we're not so sure this feat is getting quite the recognition that it deserves.  The redshirt sophomore Mihaljevic, fresh off his runner-up finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships, represented his home country of Croatia at last week's IAAF Indoor World Champs and bombed the 16 pound sphere of metal 68 feet and 5.75 inches, good enough to earn the bronze medal and less than an inch off the silver.  True, a few of the world's best throwers were not there (just like in most of the other events) as the 2016 Rio Summer Games forces athletes to peak in August, making it tough to contest the Indoor Track & Field season.  But nevertheless, do not let that fool you...this throw is good enough to make pretty much any Olympic Games Final, and is only a foot to two off of marks that will determine the medals. 

For Mihaljevic, it was undoubtedly a HUGE breakthrough as even though he has experienced a tremendous amount of success on the NCAA and World Junior level, stepping up and heaving a personal best throw on the world's biggest stages is the next step to competing for an Olympic medal.  And despite his relative youth (Mihaljevic will turn 22 right before the Rio Games), Filip HAS to see that as his target...as the once potentially tough to reach goal has quickly become a very true reality.  Should be a fun next 6 months, and we're happy to have a front seat view...

 Watch the Race Video 

While only a handful of those on hand and across the country may have known the name Henry Wynne at 3:59pm Saturday afternoon, that would immediately change precisely 4 minutes and 6.63 seconds later as the tall, lanky Cavalier took on the nation's best and emerged victorious to nab the NCAA mile crown.

For those watching, Wynne put on a clinic on how to control a tactical race from the front, holding the other nine competitors at bay, and making all the right moves to capture the third national title in Virginia history (Paul Ereng, 1989 800m & Robby Andrews, 2010 800m).  It was a decisive, emphatic win and left no doubt who the best miler on the track was.  And while some of the NCAA's "best" may have skipped the mile to race the DMR and 3K, Wynne nevertheless still looks like arguably one of the five best runners in the country right now, perhaps second only to Edward Cheserek of Oregon (who picked up NCAA titles 11, 12 & 13 this weekend).

Looking ahead to this spring & summer, Wynne will undoubtedly take firm aim at the UVA 1500m school record of 3:40.24 (John Hinton), which has stood since 1983.  If he elects to give it a shot, the 5K school record of 13:37.44 (Kris Herdt, 1987) is also very much a real threat to go down.  But more importantly, the real prize is the 3:38.00 standard that would give him a spot on the starting line of the US Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon on July 7th.  To the family and close friends of Mr. Wynne, I'd go ahead and book your tickets now...

Race Splits: 63.86 (409m), 68.02, 60.30, 54.48.  Last 800m in 1:54.7, YOWZA!

Other Results From The Weekend

-Filip Mihaljevic finished runner-up in the Men's Shot Put, his heave of 67'2" beaten only by world leader Ryan Crouser of Texas.  

-Although she did not qualify for the Women's Mile final, Iona Lake still earned second team All-American honors with her 15th place finish of 4:48.11.

-The relay quartet of Robbie Keough (true frosh), Nathan Kiley (junior), Kenneth Hagen (sophomore) and Matt Novak (true frosh) finished 10th of 12 teams in the Men's Distance Medley Relay, an impressive result from the very young and inexperienced squad.  With all four returning, plus the addition of Wynne and fellow sub-4:00 miler Mike Marsella, this event could be a gold medal one for the Hoos in 2017...

-At the New Balance Indoor National Meet in New York City, Western Albemarle's Gannon Willcutts ran a very tough, gritty race to finish 7th overall in the Championship Two Mile.  His time of 9:00.38 for the full two miles converts to 8:57.25 for 3200 meters, was an almost 10 second personal best, smashed the Western school record set by Tyler Stutzman in 2008 and was just a mere 3/10 of a second off the all-time Central Virginia record of 9:00.06 (Adam Visokay, 2012).

​-The Albemarle girl's relay of Halley Dillenbeck (2:27), Ryann Helmers (2:24), Lauren Hughlett (2:29) and Kathryn Mayo (2:16) finished 14th overall in the Emerging Elite section of the 4x800, their time of 9:37 just a few ticks off the school record mark set two weeks ago at the 5A State Meet.

-Although he finished a very solid 8th overall, Fork Union senior Alex Lomong was undoubtedly hoping for more than his 1:53.59 clocking in the Championship 800 meters.  Nevertheless, we are still expecting big, big things from Lomong this spring...

On To Outdoors...

The UVA Track & Field team will open up the spring track season with a small home meet this Saturday at Lannigan Field.  The Virginia Cup will consist of James Madison, Radford and Norfolk State and will be a free meet open to the public.  Field events begin at 12:30pm and running events will go from 3:00-6:00pm.  More information & meet schedule here.

The fabled Fort Washington Avenue Armory on Manhattan's Upper West Side will once again play host to this weekend's New Balance National High School Championships, the culmination of a long season of indoor track and field.​  The meet will take place Friday-Sunday, and will be live streamed online.  Typically, this stream has been quite good...very high video quality and solid announcing to accompany.  Results will be posted on Delta Timing's website, and we'll do our best to tweet out updates as we receive them.

As for our locals, a very small group of athletes will travel north to compete on the world's most famous indoor track, and yet, despite the small number, Central Virginia will be very well represented as usual...

Sunday 1:26pm: Boy's 2 Mile Championship (Gannon Willcutts-Western Albemarle)

Willcutts, the Central Virginia XC runner of the year, has had a relatively low key indoor campaign up to this point.  Yes, he did pick up his fourth individual state track title a couple weekends ago with a 4:20 clocking in the 1600, but he also finished runner-up in the 1000 in 2:34 and "only" split 2:00 on Western's 3rd place 4x800 relay team.  BUT, those perceived blemishes mean very little as I'm sure that the Princeton-bound Willcutts has had this 2 mile date with the nation's best circled on his calendar all season long.  Plus, his 9:05 solo 3200 meter victory back at the Virginia Tech Invite in January, where he won by almost 20 seconds, showed that he is ready to run well under 9:00 in the right race with some competition.

If the early pace is fast and honest, then I fully expect the Western Albemarle school record of 9:03.84 (Tyler Stutzman, 2009) to fall, and possibly the Central Virginia all-time record of 8:56.93 by Adam Visokay (national runner-up at this very same meet back in 2012) too.

Sunday 10:25am: Boy's 800m Championship (Alex Lomong-Fork Union)

For Lomong, this meet will be a very rare opportunity to compete against top quality competition on the fastest of tracks.  Arguably one of the nation's most underrated middle distance runners, Lomong, whose older brother Lopez is a world class miler who carried the American flag into the Olympic Stadium at the 2008 Beijing Games, has quietly put together one of the best resumes this area has ever seen.  And yet, since it is often done against weaker competition in smaller meets, the Fork Union senior rarely gets the attention he so richly deserves.  This season, despite putting up stellar marks of 1:04 (500), 2:30 (1000), and 4:18 (1600), Lomong has often been lost in the shuffle behind Willcutts and fellow Virginian Drew Hunter, whose 3:57 mile a couple weeks ago was a national high school record.  

Nevertheless, expect a big, big run from Alex at this meet.  Due to seeding rules, he will almost certainly be in the 2nd or 3rd fastest section since his 800 personal best of 1:51.72 was run last spring, and not indoors this winter.  That shouldn't matter too much though, as national champions have been crowned in this event before from "slower" sections (UVA's Nathan Kiley is a prime example as he won the 2013 title from the 2nd section in a time of 1:51.37...fast heat was 1:51.40 that year).  At the very least, the vaunted 1:50 barrier is primed to go down for Lomong this year, either here at this meet or later this spring.  Here's to hoping it comes this weekend.  

One other thing to note is that Albemarle's Anthony Kostelac holds the Central Virginia indoor 800m record with his national title winning time of 1:50.96 from 2010.  Albemarle could be losing two area all-time records this weekend...

Friday 3:55pm: Girl's Emerging Elite 4x800m Relay (Albemarle)

The foursome of Halley Dillenbeck, Ryann Helmers, Lauren Hughlett and Kathryn Mayo have been on a tear as of recently, capturing the school's first ever 4x800 state title a couple weeks ago thanks to their 9:34.33 clocking.  That time not only smashed the overall Albemarle school record (indoors and out), but also qualified the quartet for both this meet as well as the venerated Penn Relays at Philadelphia's Franklin Field in late April.  That's great news because in my (arguably) biased opinion, those are the two greatest and best high school meets on the entire calendar all year.

Anyways, this will be the first ever trip to the Armory for all four girls, and with none of the quartet graduating, it should prove to be an invaluable experience for big meets down the road.  There is little doubt that this meet and the atmosphere surrounding it can be a bit intimidating at times, but so long as that doesn't affect these four girls, then expect another few seconds to be shaved off that school record time of 9:34.  The Armory's track is one of the fastest in the world, and with anchor runner Mayo fresh off her stellar state meet double (2:14 anchor split/3:00 1000m individual title), if the first three can get the stick around to her in okay shape, then Mayo should have no trouble bringing it home strong.

Coach Bryan Fetzer and a select group of UVA athletes will travel south to Birmingham, Alabama this weekend as the city and its newly constructed (built in 2011) Crossplex facility play host to the Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships for the first time ever.  The Hoos qualified athletes in four different events and look to make some serious noise against the nation's best.  

The meet will be streamed live online at ESPN3 (or WatchESPN app on your phone) and live results will be available on Flash Results.

Friday 5:30pm (6:30pm Eastern): Men's Mile Prelims (Henry Wynne)

16 athletes in two heats of 8 will be whittled down to 10 men for the final.  Top 4 in each heat qualify as well as the next 2 fastest times.

Wynne has had arguably the greatest indoor season of any distance runner in UVA history.  Ever. (I'm counting Ereng's 1988 indoor campaign that included a 1:44.31 world record as "middle distance".  Semantics, I know.)  His 3:58.74 mile in Boston back in January is the #2 time in school history and was his first time breaking the vaunted 4:00 barrier.  A couple weeks later, he showed off his range by taking down the school record in the 3,000 meters with a 7:53.89 clocking (roughly converts to an 8:30 two mile).  Neither of those feats were as impressive as his quadruple at the ACC Champs, where in the span of 48 hours he scored 28 points, won 2 ACC titles and outkicked Syracuse's Justyn Knight, unquestionably one of the nation's top 5 runners.  

That weekend was enough to garner a lot of national attention for Wynne, and if he doesn't enter this NCAA meet believing he has a very legitimate shot at winning a national title, he is doing himself a great disservice.  The country's top 3 milers (Oregon's Cheserek, Stanford's McGorty and Washington's Yorks) have all elected to run the 3K instead, so the door is certainly wide open for Wynne.  A big factor in his odds for a potential victory rest in whether or not he is called upon to anchor UVA's Distance Medley Relay on Friday night, or if he will be able to enter Saturday's final "fresh".  

Couple things to note...

1. UVA has only ever won two national titles at the Indoor NCAA meet.  Both came in the Men's 800, with Olympic Champion Paul Ereng winning it in 1989 and Robby Andrews in 2010.  

2. Vince Draddy's 3:58.2h (handtimed) from way back in 1982 is the school record. Wynne's 3:58.74 is #2.

Friday 5:45pm (6:45 Eastern): Women's Mile Prelims (Iona Lake)

16 athletes in two heats of 8 will be whittled down to 10 men for the final.  Top 4 in each heat qualify as well as the next 2 fastest times.

As good as Wynne's ACC weekend was, Lake's was a very close 2nd as her thrilling come from behind victory resulted in a 6+ second personal best and a time of 4:36.11.  She is currently ranked 9th in the country and will be looking to make the final and notch All-American honors in her first ever NCAA indoor meet. 

Friday 8:45pm (9:45 Eastern): Men's Distance Medley Relay

For the second consecutive year, the men will field a DMR team as the foursome of Matt Novak (1200m), Nathan Kiley (400m), Kenneth Hagan (800m), and Henry Wynne (1600m) qualified thanks to their 9:27.89* clocking in Winston-Salem a few weeks ago.  In actuality, the team ran a time of 9:35.60, but thanks to the NCAA's conversion rules, since it was run on a flat 200m track (as opposed to a banked 200m or oversized 300+ meter track), the 9:35 converts down to the 9:27.  I'm not so sure I agree with the extent of these conversion rules, but hey, that's the way it is and there's certainly no problem with teams taking advantage of them.  

Regardless, the Hoos rank 7th on the list in what is arguably the deepest field ever at the NCAA meet.  It's still a bit murky in terms of who actually lines up and races for UVA, as Wynne may elect to skip it and just run the mile prelims and finals.  If he DOES anchor, then expect the Hoos to contend for a top 5 showing.  If he doesn't, well then it's anybody's guess, but at the very least, it will be great experience for Novak (true frosh), Hagan (sophomore) and Kiley (junior).  And with Wynne as well as Marsella (the other sub-4:00 miler on the roster who has been out with mono) back next year, expect this relay team to be challenging for a national title in 2017.

Saturday 2:00pm (3:00 Eastern): Men's Shot Put (Filip Mihaljevic)

It's a bit amazing that someone who shattered the school record, the ACC record and hit a 2016 Rio Olympics qualifying mark isn't the top seed in the country, but that just shows you how good the NCAA truly is.  Mihaljevic's heave of 20.69m (67' 10.75") is by far the most impressive mark by any Virginia athlete in the last several years, in any event, but he will face an uphill battle to win his first ever NCAA title as Texas' Ryan Crouser is seeded a full 3+ feet farther with his 71+ foot throw.  Crouser is the collegiate record holder in this event and is currently ranked #1 in the world this season, so as you can see, a steep uphill battle.  BUT, there's a reason they hold these meets and don't just hand out medals based on the rankings, and if there is anyone who is going to unseat Crouser, it'd arguably be Mihaljevic. 

Saturday 4:00pm (5:00 Eastern): Men's Mile Final (Wynne?)

Saturday 4:10pm (5:10 Eastern): Women's Mile Final (Lake?)

-Alec Lorenzoni.  Comments, Criticism, Love, Hate....all are welcome.