Track and Field Recruiting

The Virginia track and field program announced its men’s and women’s recruiting class for the 2022-23 season. The men’s class features a total of 16 athletes including three transfers and one athlete from New Zealand. The women’s class includes eight distance runners, three sprinters, three throwers, and one pole vaulter.

Men’s Recruiting Class:

Will Anthony (Distance) – Whitby, Porirua, New Zealand – Scots College

With a personal-best time in the 3000 meters of 8:04.25, Anthony is set to represent his home country of New Zealand at the U20 World Championships this summer. The incoming freshman also holds a personal-best 5000-meter time of 14:15.08.

Kenton Bachmann (Middle Distance) – Knoxville, Tenn. – Wake Forest

Bachmann joins the Cavaliers as a transfer from Wake Forest and boasts a personal-best 800 time of 1:48.84. Bachmann earned second-team All-ACC honors in the 800 meters with the Demon Deacons in 2021 at the ACC Indoor Championships. Bachmann was named to the All-ACC Academic team after the 2021 season.

Thomas Corel (Sprints) – Sydney, Australia – Wagner

A native of Sydney, Australia, Corel joins the Cavaliers as a transfer from Wagner. The 400-meter specialist holds a personal-best time of 47.06 and comes off a season in which his 4×400-meter relay teams won gold at the NEC indoor and outdoor championships.

James Donahue (Distance) – Belmont, Mass. – Belmont Hill School

Donahue boasts a 1600-meter time of 4:01.15. In the mile, he clocked a personal-best mile time of 4:01.39 at the Brooks PR Invitational and placed third at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals.

David Frasier (Combined) – Chesapeake, Va. – IMG Academy

Frasier steps into Mario Wilson’s group of combined athletes at UVA. As a well-rounded decathlete, he brings a 110-meter hurdles time of 14.09 to the table. Frasier also won the high jump at the VHSL Class 6 State Championships with a mark of 1.93 meters.

Michael Koepke (Sprints) – Charlotte, N.C. – Ardrey Kell High School

Koepke brings a personal best of 21.73 in the 200 meters and a time of 10.98 to UVA’s group of sprinters. In 2021 Koepke placed sixth at the NCHSAA 4A State Championships in the 200 meters.

Jaden Lyons (Sprints) – Freeport, N.Y. – Kellenberg Memorial High School

Lyons is new to the sport of track and field with a background in football but brings plenty of potential with him to Charlottesville as he owns a personal-best 200 time of 22.56 and a 400 time of 48.22.

Gary Martin (Distance) – Warminster, Pa. – Archbishop Wood

Martin joins the Cavaliers as one of the nation’s best high school runners after going sub-four in the mile on two occasions this season. Martin accomplished the feat for the first time at the Philadelphia Catholic League Outdoor Championships before running 3:57.89 at the HOKA Festival of Miles.

Owen McArdle (Distance) – Arlington, Va. – Yorktown High School

McArdle will join the Cavalier cross country squad with his personal-best 5,000-meter time of 15:05.49, which he ran at the Eastbay South Regional meet, where he finished fifth.

Myles Plummer (Middle-Distance) – Franklin Park, N.J. – Union Catholic High School

Myles Plummer is one of a long line of great athletes from Union Catholic High School. The middle-distance runner holds a personal-best 800-meter time of 1:51.03 and a 1600-meter time of 4:10.69.

Kyle Rakitis (Middle-Distance) – Woolwich Township, N.J. – Kingsway Regional High School

Rakitis excels in the middle-distance events holding a personal-best 1500-meter time of 3:52.82 and an 800-meter personal-best of 1:53.13. Rakitis placed second in the 1500 meters at the Nike Indoor Nationals in 2022.

Justin Rogers (Pole Vault) – Hershey, Pa. – Hershey High School

Rogers engineered an impressive senior campaign in the pole vault. The Pennsylvania state champion cleared a personal-best mark of 17’3” this season before winning the pole vault title at the USATF U20 Outdoor championships. Rogers will represent the United States at the U20 World Championships in Cali, Columbia.

Luke Schroeder (Sprints) – Alexandria, Va. – Bullis School

Luke Schroeder will become the latest addition out of the Bullis School as he joins the Virginia sprinters, a group that includes fellow Bullis graduate Jay Pendarvis. Schroeder holds a 400-meter time of 47.99, which he ran at New Balance Outdoor Nationals where he finished sixth.

Henry Sullivan (Combined) – Crozet, Va. – Western Albemarle

Sullivan will make the short trip to Grounds from Crozet to compete in the combined events for the Hoos. Sullivan Placed first in the 110-meter hurdles at the VHSL Class 4 State Championships and holds a personal-best time of 14.58.

Evans White (Sprints) – Lorton, Va. – South County High School

White joins LaRon Bennet’s group of sprinters at Virginia and brings a 48.26 personal-best 400-meter time to the Cavaliers and a wind-aided 21.42 time in the 200 meters. White also placed third at the VHSL Class 6 State Championships.

Tyler Zawatski (Javelin) – Manalapan, N.J. – Freehold Regional High School

Zawatski will join a long line of excellent javelin throwers under throws coach Martin Maric. The New Jersey Native placed first at the East Coast Track and field Championships and fifth at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals, where he threw his personal-best at 198’7”.

Women’s Recruiting Class:

Sarah Akpan (Sprints) – Houston, Texas – Houston Stratford High School

Sarah Akpan heads to Charlottesville as a well-rounded sprinter. Akpan holds a personal-best 100-meter time of 11.44 as well as a personal-best 200 time of 23.86 and a 400 time of 55.16.

Sophia Akpan (Sprints/Hurdles) – Houston, Texas – Houston Stratford High School

Sister of Sarah, Sophia Akpan, comes to Virginia as a 400-hurdler with a personal-best time of 1:01.88 in the event as well as a 200-meter time of 24.93, which she ran at the AAU Gulf District Qualifier.

Aryana Boostani (Sprints) – San Diego, Calif. – Cathedral Catholic High School

Aryana Boostani makes the trip across the country to join the sprints group at UVA. She brings a 200-meter time of 24.79 and a 100-meter best of 12.19.

Addison Cox (Distance) – Northwood, N.H. – New Hampshire

Addison Cox arrives in Charlottesville as a transfer from UNH. In her lone cross country season with the Wildcats, Cox placed 11th at the America East Conference Cross Country Championships.

Katie Dorsey (Distance) – Wilmington, Del. – Padua Academy

Katie Dorsey joins a strong group of UVA distance runners. She is the Delaware State Champion in both the 1,600 and 3,200 meters.

Linnaea Kavulich (Distance) – Scappoose, Ore. – Columbia

A transfer from Columbia University, Linnaea Kavulich brings a personal-best 5k time of 16:39.23 and a 3k time of 9:39.46 to Charlottesville to bolster the Cavaliers distance and cross country squads. Kavulich was named to the Academic All-Ivy Cross Country team in 2021.

Brooke Lumpkin (Throws) – Avon Lake, Ohio – Walsh

Brooke Lumpkin joins Martin Maric’s group of throwers in Charlottesville as a transfer from NCAA II Walsh. She holds a personal-best hammer throw mark of 146’1” and a weight throw mark of 47’9.25”.

Bree Lumpkin (Throws) – Avon Lake, Ohio – Walsh

Twin sister of Brooke, Bree Lumpkin, also makes the transition from Walsh to Virginia. She holds a personal-best hammer throw mark of 160’4” and a weight throw mark of 45’10.5”.

Amelia Maughan (Distance) – Chapel Hill, N.C. – Chapel Hill High School

Amelia Maughan claimed the 1600-meter title at the North Carolina State Championships. She will be a valuable member of the UVA cross country team.

Abigail Meckes (Javelin) – Leighton, Pa. – Leighton Area High School

Abigail Meckes joins a long line of great javelin throwers to train under throws coach Martin Maric. Meckes placed second at the PIAA District XI AAA Championship in the javelin.

Camryn Menninger (Distance) – Winchester, Mass. – NYU

Camryn Menninger joins the Hoos as a transfer after one season at NYU. The cross country runner was named the UAA Athlete of the Week in 2021.

Samantha Romano (Pole Vault) – Glen Allen, Va. – Glen Allen High School

Samantha Romano set a personal best in the pole vault when she won the event with a mark of 13’3″ at the Region 5C Championship her senior season. She also placed second at the VHSL Class 5 State Championships.

Esther Seeland (Middle Distance) – State College, Pa. – Messiah

Esther Seeland joins the Cavaliers as a transfer after three dominant years at NCAA III Messiah College. At Messiah, Seeland won five NCAA Division III Championships between the indoor and outdoor seasons. She brings a personal-best 800 time of 2:02.52 and a 1500 time of 4:18.28. Seeland also competed at the World Championship Trials in the 800 in Eugene, Ore. earlier this summer.

Rebecca Story (Distance) – Knoxville, Tenn. – Stanford

Stanford transfer, Rebecca Story further bolsters a talented group of distance runners for the Cavaliers. The cross country specialist brings a personal-best 5k time of 16:32.83 to Charlottesville and a 6k time of 20:52.9. Story helped the Cardinal to a PAC-12 team cross country championship in the 2020-21 season.

Irene Williams (Distance) – Alexandria, Va. – Thomas Jefferson S&T

Irene Williams arrives as a distance runner for the Cavaliers after placing first in both the 1,600 and 3,200 at the National District Outdoor Track & Field Championships. She also placed first at the Occoquan Region Championships in the 3,200 in 2022.

University of Virginia is a public institution that was founded in 1819. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 17,311 (fall 2020), its setting is suburban, and the campus size is 1,682 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. University of Virginia's ranking in the 2022 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, #25. Its in-state tuition and fees are $19,698; out-of-state tuition and fees are $53,666.