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JUNE 2023 7 cavalier sports A t the University of Virginia, winning alone isn't enough to make you one of the greats. Often, it's how you do it. Owayne Owens, now a graduate student, has done a lot of winning as a member of the Virginia men's track and field program. In his first indoor season as a Cavalier, the Jamaican native made it all the way to Albu- querque, N.M., for the NCAA Championships where he was set to compete in the triple jump. Despite Owens and hundreds of other individuals arriving in Albuquerque, the COVID-19 pandemic halted the meet before it began. In a way, Owens' career has come full circle since that 2020 indoor campaign. A four-time ACC champion in the triple jump and the Virginia record holder in the indoor long jump, Owens has been a picture of consistency for the Cavaliers. He went on to qualify for five more NCAA Championships in the triple jump and in his final indoor campaign, the championship meet returned to Albuquerque. This time, he delivered one of the elite performances of his career jumping a personal-best to win bronze — his highest ever finish at an NCAA championship meet. An exceptional athlete in track and field, Owens is also an extremely accomplished scholar. In addition to being named to the All-ACC Academic team on numerous oc- casions, Owens is a recipient of the ACC Postgraduate Scholarship Award and is set to graduate with a master's degree in lead- ership and public policy. In 2022, he be- came the first men's track and field athlete to be named a first-team CoSIDA Academic All-American and followed it up in 2023 by earning the honor of ACC Scholar Athlete of the year for indoor track and field. Though his athletic and academic ac- colades are impressive, what makes Owens special is his commitment to excellence outside of track and field, as well as his deep passion for his community. Since his first season at Virginia, Owens has been involved with the Run Charlottesville organi- zation, a non-profit geared towards children that aims to build community around the sport of running. "I started volunteering my freshman year and fell in love with it and the idea be- hind it," Owens said. "My second year they brought me onto the leadership team and asked me to be president my third year." As president of the organization, Owens takes on more of an administrative role than he did in the past, but still has a passion for the work that comes with volunteering. "I have always had the idea that I have only gotten this far because a lot of people were generous and gave back to me," he said. "I feel like I have to pay it forward and give back to the community because I po- tentially could have that same impact that others had on me. Even if it is a small ripple effect, I think that goes a long way." — Quinn Hull Owens placed third nationally in the triple jump and earned first-team All-America honors at the NCAA Indoor Championships. (Photo by Jim Daves/courtesy UVA) getting to know Graduate Student Track And Field Athlete Owayne Owens