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34 CAVALIER CORNER cavalier profile ALAHNA SABBAKHAN Fourth-Year • Track & Field Confidence is a powerful thing in the mind of an athlete. For an excellent example, one needs to look no further than Alahna Sabbakhan of the Virginia women's track and field program. The fourth-year 800-meter specialist out of the Washington, D.C., area put forth an impressive indoor campaign in 2022, earning second-team All-ACC status while breaking the school record in the 800 meters at the ACC Championships. Sabbakhan recalled that even after breaking the Virginia 800-meter record with her time of 2:05.74 and a fourth- place finish at the ACC Championships, she still felt like she could still improve. "I felt really confident because I was feeling great throughout the indoor sea- son," Sabbakhan said. "I felt stronger than I ever had. I just felt like I kept hav- ing these meets where I was like, 'Wow, I can still run a lot faster than that!'" It was a feeling that served her well when her season continued at the NCAA Championships in Birmingham, Ala., where she was inserted into the 800-me- ter leg of Virginia's distance medley relay team. The Cavaliers raced to a seventh- place finish at the national meet to earn first-team All-America honors. "It was really inspiring for us to make it to NCAAs in the DMR," Sabbakhan said. "To be out there competing with the best track and field athletes in the country is a cool experience, and it pushes you to keep going further. I think it was really motivating for all of us. We want to keep going back and keep getting better." Sabbakhan has designs on continuing to improve during the 2023 indoor track and field season. Despite achieving many accomplishments already, there are still items remaining on her to-do list. One of them is to earn first-team All-ACC status. She will have a chance to do just that by finishing in the top three when Virginia takes part in the ACC Championships Feb. 23-25 in Louisville, Ky. — Quinn Hull Photo by Jim Daves/courtesy UVA