Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Photo: Jeff Moreland | Icon Sportswire

The Virginia No.21 men’s and women’s track and field teams kickstarted competition at the 2026 ACC Outdoor Championships at Cardinal Track Stadium in Louisville, Ky., on Thursday, as Jeremiah Nubbe and Justin Wachtel won gold to lead the Virginia men’s team to the top of the leaderboard after the first day of competition.

At the end of the first day of competition (4 of 21 events scored), the Virginia men lead the team standings with 43 points, while the women sit in 10th place with 12 points.

CAVALIERS STRIKE GOLD …

  • Jeremiah Nubbe won the men’s hammer throw with his second-round mark of 72.19m/236-10.
  • In the men’s 10,000-meters, Justin Wachtel surged on the home stretch to cross the line in dramatic fashion, clocking 29:38.58 for the win.
  • Led by Wachtel, Will Anthony finished second to earn the silver medal with his time of 29:39.71.

If you want even more award-winning coverage on the UVA athletics department, including its nationally-ranked football and basketball programs, be sure to subscribe to “Cavalier Exclusive” to follow all of Virginia Sports Hall Of Famer Jerry “Hootie” Ratcliffe’s analysis and content. It’s the best in the business for Wahoo Fans!

A TRIO OF BRONZE MEDALS …

  • Nikolaos Polychroniou finished third with his penultimate mark of 67.67m/222-0 in the men’s hammer throw.
  • Just behind Polychroniou was Cale Ayers in fourth place, throwing for a new personal best of 67.60m/221-9. Ayers’ mark ranks No. 5 all-time in program history.
  • Led by Nubbe’s gold-medal performances, the Cavaliers scored a total of 21 points in the men’s hammer throw event.
  • In the women’s hammer throw, freshman Charlotta Sandkulla earned the bronze medal in her first outdoor ACC Championships with her sixth and final mark of 66.35m/217-8.
  • Christiana Ellina finished third in the women’s javelin on her final attempt down the runway, throwing for 50.01m/164-1.

PUNCHED THEIR TICKET TO THE FINAL …

  • Anders Felts ran a new personal best of 51.53 to qualify to the final in the men’s 400-meter hurdles.
  • Felts’ time ranks No. 8 all-time and No. 2 among freshmen in program history.
  • Winning his heat in 3:54.66, Gary Martin secured an automatic qualifying bid to the final in the men’s 1500-meters.
  • Tatum David also earned an auto qualifier to the final in the women’s 15000-meters, winning her preliminary heat in 4:16.73.

MORE PERFORMANCES …

  • Jayden McKeen finished fifth in the men’s javelin with his mark of 61.97m/203-3 to earn second team All-ACC honors.
  • Gage Gose just missed the final by one spot, finishing 10th in 51.95 in the men’s 400-meter hurdles.
  • In the women’s 400-meter hurdles, Brooke’Lyn Drakeford recorded a new personal best of 59.59.
  • Theresa Breckley threw a new personal best in the women’s hammer throw with her second-round mark of 58.48m/191-10. Her mark ranks No. 9 all-time in program history.
  • In the women’s 200-meter dash, Ma’Khi Falkquay clocked a season best of 23.89.
  • Gillian Bushee finished ninth in the women’s 10,000-meters, crossing the line in 33:43.66.

ALL-ACC

The top three finishers in each individual event at the ACC Championship will be named first-team All-ACC, along with each member of each first-place relay team. The fourth- through sixth-place finishers in each individual event will be named second-team All-ACC, along with each member of each second- and third-place relay team.

First Team: Will Anthony (10,000m), Christiana Ellina (Javelin), Jeremiah Nubbe (Hammer), Charlotta Sandkulla (Hammer), Nikolaos Polychroniou (Hammer) Justin Wachtel (10,000m)

Second Team: Cale Ayers (Hammer), Jayden McKeen (Javelin)

TEAM STANDINGS

Men – Through Four Events
1. Virginia, 43
2. Duke, 27
3. Virginia Tech, 20
4. Louisville, 18
5. Notre Dame, 15
6. Wake Forest, 10
7. California, 7
T8. NC State, 6
T8. North Carolina, 6
10. Syracuse, 3
11. Miami, 1
T12. Boston College, 0
T12. Clemson, 0
T12. Florida State, 0
T12. Georgia Tech, 0
T12. Pitt, 0
T12. Stanford, 0

Women – Through Four Events
1. California, 19
T2. Louisville, 18
T2. Wake Forest, 18
T4. Duke, 15
T4. North Carolina, 15
T6. Florida State, 14
T6. Miami, 14
T6. Notre Dame, 14
T6. Virginia Tech, 14
10. Virginia, 12
11. NC State, 3
T12. Boston College, 0
T12. Clemson, 0
T12. Pitt, 0
T12. SMU, 0
T12. Stanford, 0
T12. Syracuse, 0

HOW TO FOLLOW

Expanded coverage of the ACC Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Championships will be streamed live each day via ACC Network Extra as follows: Thursday and Friday starting at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., and Saturday starting at 4 p.m. until the championship’s conclusion.

You can find links to the ACCNX live streams (see links in schedule below), live stats and the overall meet schedule here, and are also available at VirginiaSports.com. Updates will also be posted to the team’s official Twitter account (@UVAtfcc).

STREAMING SCHEDULE

Friday
Live Stream starting at 1 p.m.
Live Stream starting at 5 p.m.

Saturday
Live Stream starting at 4 p.m.

UP NEXT

The Cavaliers continue competition at the ACC Championships in Louisville on Friday. Competition is set to begin with Cassie Callis and Elsa Spoor in the women’s heptathlon at 11:30 a.m.

If you want even more award-winning coverage on the UVA athletics department, including its nationally-ranked football and basketball programs, be sure to subscribe to “Cavalier Exclusive” to follow all of Virginia Sports Hall Of Famer Jerry “Hootie” Ratcliffe’s analysis and content. It’s the best in the business for Wahoo Fans!

   Navigating: Track & Field

Track & Field: Three-day ACC Championships begin Thursday in Louisville

(updated )

The championship season begins for the UVA track and field teams as they travel to Louisville to compete at the ACC Outdoor Championships.