CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The Virginia track and fields teams host the annual Lou Onesty/Milton Abrahamson Invitational this weekend. Field events will begin with the hammer on Friday at 1 p.m., and conclude with the invitational mile at 7 p.m. Saturday’s events will begin with the discus at 10 a.m., and conclude with the 4x400m relay at 5 p.m.

So far this season, 13 Cavaliers have qualified for the NCAA East Regional Championships and senior Yemi Ayeni broke his own program record in the shot put.

At the Virginia-Missouri Jefferson Dual, Ayeni’s throw of 59’ 9.75” bettered his old school record by almost two feet, was good for first-place at the meet and was a regional qualifying mark. The All-American also earned a ticket to the East Regional in the discus with a first-place regional qualifying throw at the dual meet, tossing 190’ 8”.

Sophomore Meikle Paschal, freshman Morgane Gay, junior Samantha Stafford and freshman Erin Wykoff also joined Ayeni with regional qualifying marks at the Jefferson Dual. Paschal clocked in at 46.99 in the 400m, while Morgane Gay won the mile in 4:48.63, Samantha Stafford finished the steeplechase in 10:48.21 and Wykoff tossed 150’8” in the discus.

In addition, junior Ayla Smith qualified regionally in two events at the Raleigh Relays, while junior Stephanie Garcia, junior Meghan Briggs and freshman Tara Karin all hit the regional mark in their respective events. Smith ran 13.77 in the 100m hurdles and 58.28 in the 400m hurdles. Garcia posted a time of 10:23.68 in the steeplechase. Briggs won the javelin event with a throw of 150’ 0” and Tara Karin threw 143’2’’.

At the UVa Spring Swashbuckle, senior Caitlin Kelly qualified in the discus, throwing a personal-best 163’ 8” - tying the sixth-best mark on the program’s top-10 list, while senior Billie-Jo Grant finished runner-up in the event with a toss of 161’ 3”. In the 1500m, Emil Heineking won top honors, completing the race in 3:46.62, while Kevin Tschirhart finished second in 3:47.38.

Following the home invitational, the Cavaliers will head to Miami for the 2009 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships. The meet will begin on Thursday and conclude Saturday.