Cavalier Corner is the publication just for UVa sports fans!
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/686376
BY MIKE SCANDURA W HEN SHE IS NOT wear- ing a pair of cleats and sprinting around a track, fourth-year UVA student- athlete Peyton Chaney makes the most of her time. Consider the following: she will graduate with a double major in government and sociol- ogy; she has been accepted at Emory Univer- sity's law school; the ACC named her one of 43 recipients of the Weaver-James Corrigan Award, a post-graduate scholarship worth $5,000; she is a perennial member of the All- ACC Academic Team; she is deeply involved with Fashion for a Cause, a non-profit chari- table organization; and she serves as a peer advisor in UVA's Office of African-American Affairs and mentors first-year students. The length of her résumé doesn't surprise her head coach, Bryan Fetzer. "Track and field is a small part of the col- lege experience," Fetzer said. "It's the tools you use to become a better person. That's the purpose of athletics. I want to win as bad as anybody else, but it's the development of a young person into a better person and the maturation process that's important. "Peyton is a great leader on and off the track. Has she developed into a young lady that would be productive in whatever she chooses to do in life? Yes! She's done a terrific job of molding the young ladies on our team in ways that athletic performance doesn't." A perfect example of that is the time Chaney uses to mentor first-year students. "Honestly, when I see first-year students excel in things they like to do, I see them doing things I couldn't do my first year," Chaney said. "I tell first-years they have to manage their time. "I enjoy seeing the first-years doing well whether it's athletics or academics." Academic emulation of Chaney is a daunting task. Doing the same athletically is almost as difficult. Among other things: Chaney has been an NCAA East preliminary qualifier in the 200 meters, the 4x100 relay and the 4x400 relay; she ran a leg on the 2015 outdoor team that set a school record in the 4x100 relay; she sprinted a season-best 23.62 in the 200 dur- ing the 2015 outdoor season, which ranks fifth in UVA history; during the 2015 indoor season, she was clocked in 24.06 in the 200, which was the third-fastest time in school history; and at this year's ACC Outdoor Championships, she ran a leg on the 4x100 SPRINTING TO SUCCESS Fourth-Year Peyton Chaney Has Been Busy Excelling On And Off The Track For UVA