After a long delay caused by a severe thunderstorm watch, the Cavaliers finished up the final day of the Atlantic Coast Conference Outdoor Championship late Saturday night with some new hardware.
The Virginia men pulled off a decisive win, achieving a total of 110 points. The runner up, Florida State, was 14 points behind. The biggest cause for the win was the overall strength within both the distance team and the thrower contingent.
The Cavaliers were able to amass a handful of 1-2 finishes in events such as the 3,000-meter steeplechase with graduate students Brett Gardner and Nathan Mountain as well as the 10,000 meters with graduate student Justin Wachtel and senior Will Anthony.
In addition to the first-place finishes from Gardner and Wachtel, senior Jeremiah Nubbe cleared the field with a stunning win in men’s hammer throw.
For the men, it was their second ACC title win of this year, meaning they have won two out of three of the possible 2025-2026 titles in cross country, and now outdoor. This meet was also a major comeback from last year’s ACC Championship, where the men placed 13th overall with just 25 points.
The women’s team struggled to perform as well as they had with their win last year, mostly due to the loss of key runners like 2025 alumnae Margot Appleton and Jenny Schilling. Still, the Cavaliers managed a solid fifth place with a total of 62 points.
The meet kicked off Thursday with a strong beginning from the throwers. Nubbe won the men’s hammer throw for his mark of 72.19 meters, over three meters ahead of the second place finisher. Alongside him were Virginia graduate students Nikolaos Polychroniou and Cale Ayers in third and fourth place. Polychroniou threw 67.67 meters, and Ayers 67.60.
In women’s javelin, senior Christiana Ellina placed third overall for her 50.01 throw, while in women’s hammer throw, freshman Charlotta Sankulla nabbed the bronze for her 66.35 meter mark.
On the track, Thursday was mostly meant for prelims aside from the men’s 10K. The race was relatively tight for the first three quarters of the race with a sizable contingent of runners at the front. By the last 800 meters, the top eight runners were all within a second or two of each other with Wachtel and Anthony in the mix. Anthony had led Wachtel for most of the race but in the last 400, Wachtel managed to get around Anthony and a few other runners to claim the win.
Wachtel produced a time of 29:38.58 with Anthony in second with his time of 29:39.71.
In the heptathlon, which ran from Thursday to Friday, junior Elsa Spoor placed third overall with a new personal best of 5472 points. She won the high jump event and notched third finish in the 800 meter race.
The rest of the races of Friday included a number of prelims but also another 1-2 finish in the men’s 3,000 meter steeplechase. Gardner and Mountain led most of the race at the front, and for the first two laps Gardner had taken the lead, but then Mountain claimed the lead for the third and fourth lap. After this, Gardner settled into first and was immoveable for the duration of the race, gradually strengthening his lead until he finished with a time of 8:35.94. Mountain finished behind him in second in 8:40.86.
Mountain has won the event for the past two years, and still holds the ACC meet record for his 2024 time of 8:30.05.
Back on the field, Virginia claimed a number of sixth place finishes in men’s long jump for Caleb Holman, Brooke Lumpkin in women’s shot put and Grace Smith in women’s long jump. Holman jumped 7.54 meters, while Smith’s highest jump clocked in at 6.24 meters. Lumpkin’s best throw was 15.87 meters.
Saturday was the final day of competition, bringing a number of top-10 finishes, highlighted by senior Gary Martin’s second-place finish in the 1500 meters.
Nubbe placed fifth overall in men’s discus with his throw of 57.09 meters, and Holman placed fourth in triple jump for a new personal best of 15.86 meters. In women’s high jump, Virginia placed fifth and sixth with senior Celia Rifaterra in fifth and Spoor in sixth. Both recorded final marks of 1.74 meters.
Graduate student Janae Profit and sophomore Suzie Kennelly placed well in women’s discus with Profit claiming a third place finish for her 52.80 meter throw and Kennelly in fourth with a mark of 51.74 meters.
For the men’s 1500, Martin placed second in 3:39.88 behind senior Nicholas Plant from Virginia Tech. Martin had been in the lead heading into the last 400 meters but Plant managed to usurp him and win by 0.18 seconds.
In the women’s event, junior Tatum David placed third in 4:14.69. Also taking third place was sophomore Maya Rollins, who claimed not only a new personal best but the school record in the 100 meter hurdles for her time of 13.24 seconds.
Back in the men’s 800 meters, the Cavaliers snagged fourth and sixth from graduate student Sam Rodman and junior Tyler Edson. Rodman ran 1:47.14 and Edson 1:48.99. Also placing fourth and sixth were Martin and Wachtel in the 5,000 meters, with Martin running 13:31.43 and Wachtel 13:36.15.
Freshman Anders Felts placed fourth overall in the men’s 400-meter hurdles for a new personal best of 51.10.
The meet was a strong showing for the Virginia men, proving a consistent ability to place high against the ACC’s best. The victory for the men would not have been possible without top marks from runners and throwers like Wachtel, Gardner and Nubbe combined with frequent top-five finishes from the rest of the team.
The women may not have placed as highly as last year but there were still some excellent performances — such as Rollins breaking a school record that has stood since 2018.
Next week, Virginia will face a number of the same teams in the NCAA East Regionals in Lexington, Ky., and the men’s team will certainly hope for a similar outcome.
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