Courtesy UVA Media Relations

The No. 25 Virginia men’s and women’s track and field continued competition at the 2026 Penn Relays at Franklin Field in Philadelphia on Friday, which was highlighted by a trio of third-place finishes, including the men’s distance medley relay, Abigail Meckes and Jayden McKeen in the javelin.

CAVALIER RELAYS …

• The men’s team of Nathan Mountain, Anders Felts, Sam Rodman, and Gary Martin finished third in the College Men’s Distance Medley Championship of America, clocking 9:33.13.
• The women’s team of Tatum OIesen, Ariel Fletcher, Cate DeSousa, and Tatum David clocked 11:00.37 to finish sixth overall in the College Women’s Distance Medley Championship of America.
• The quartet of Sarah Akpan, Elsa Spoor, Ariel Fletcher, and Brooke’Lyn Drakeford combined efforts to run a season-best 3:38.24 in the College Women’s 4x400m Championship of America (Heats).

FRIDAY EVENTS AT FRANKLIN …

• Jayden McKeen rounded out the top finishers in the College Men’s Javelin Throw College section with his sixth and final attempt mark of 62.78m/206-0.
• Abigail Meckes finished third in the College Women’s Javelin Throw College section with her third-round mark of 44.39m/145-7.
• Peter Djan ran 14.18 (+1.4) to finish 11th in the College Men’s 110m Hurdles (Heats) and just miss out on qualifying for the final by two spots.
• In the women’s College Women’s 100m Hurdles (Heats), Maya Rollins ran 13.65 (+1.2) to finish 14th overall.
• On his second jump of the competition, Liam Paneque recorded his furthest mark of 6.87m/22-6.50.

UP NEXT

The Cavaliers will continue competition at the Penn Relays on Saturday. Competition for Virginia is set to begin at 9:30 a.m., as Suzie Kennelly and Janae Profit take on the field in the College Women’s Discus Championship. Virginia will also compete at the Charlotte Invitational at the Irwin Belk Track & Field Center in Charlotte, N.C., on Saturday.

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