UVA track star Shane Cohen got the championship vibes flowing for the Wahoos on Friday. The baseball team then rode that momentum on Saturday to a super regional title and a spot in the College World Series. (UVA Athletics photos; illustration by John DiJulio, University Communications)
From the track to the diamond, the University of Virginia had an epic sports weekend.
On Friday night in Eugene, Oregon, Cavalier senior Shane Cohen surged from behind to take the 800-meter NCAA championship race, becoming the first Wahoo to win the event since Robby Andrews in 2011.
Cohen roared from the back of the pack over the race’s final 120 meters to record a personal-best time of 1 minute, 44.97 seconds.
Nobody:
Absolutely nobody:
Shane Cohen: “I’m gonna go ahead and win this thing.”
What an absolutely unreal kick by the @UVATFCC standout to win the 800-meter title at the 2024 @NCAATrackField DI Outdoor Championships!pic.twitter.com/MYz7IwjBTB— USTFCCCA (@USTFCCCA) June 8, 2024
With Cohen as the headliner, the UVA men’s track and field team took eighth place at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, the third-highest finish in program history.
Less than 24 hours later, back in Charlottesville, the Wahoo baseball team finished a super regional sweep of Kansas State University with a 10-4 win, clinching the program’s second straight trip to the College World Series, and seventh overall.
The ninth inning proved to be sweet for the Cavaliers on Saturday, scoring five runs in the top of the frame before junior pitcher Chase Hungate retired the Wildcats in order in the bottom, leading to the latest in a line of celebratory dogpiles at Disharoon Park.
WE'LL SEE YOU IN OMAHA! #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/Pf3sPpnWxN
— Virginia Baseball (@UVABaseball) June 9, 2024
UVA will begin play in the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, on Friday against the University of North Carolina.
The Hoos have been semi-regulars to this event since 2009, when a Virginia team featuring then-freshman catcher John Hicks made the program’s first trip to Omaha. Fifteen years later, Hicks is back with the Hoos as a student assistant coach.
Read more about Hicks’ story in Wednesday’s Daily Report.
University News Associate University Communications
fpa5up@virginia.edu (434) 924-6856
June 19, 2024
