Dabbs claims silver at opening day of NCAA Championships

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

The Virginia men’s track and field team opened competition at the NCAA Championships with a strong start as Ethan Dabbs placed second in the javelin while Yasin Sado picked up second team All-American honors for the first time in his career in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at Hayward Field on Wednesday evening.

Dabbs competed in the javelin at the NCAA Championships for the first time since his freshman season in 2019. After undergoing Tommy John surgery in July of 2021, he returned to the stage as the top seed. The senior competed amongst an incredibly deep field of competitors, five of which surpassed the 78-meter mark.

In a heated competition, Dabbs sat in third place after his first three throws. In the finals, the senior vaulted into second with his first of the additional three attempts. Looking to best the leading mark from Penn’s Mark Minichello (81.17m / 266’3”), Dabbs let go of his best throw of the competition but fell just short of the title at 79.68 meters (261’5”).

With his second-place finish, Dabbs ties Brian Koller for the best finish in the javelin at the NCAA Championships in UVA history. Kollar won the silver in 2000 with a mark of 72.20 meters. The finish also marks the second time Dabbs has earned All-American honors in his collegiate career.

Yasin Sado made his NCAA Championships debut in the 3,000-meter steeplechase as he entered the semifinals with a seed time that ranks as the second-fastest in UVA history (8:33.39). Sado battled amongst the leaders throughout his race. Though he narrowly missed out on the final automatic qualifying place, Sado’s 14th place finish earned him second team All-American honors for the first time in his young career.

After a standout sophomore campaign, Sado has established himself as one of UVA’s all-time great steeplechasers and became just the ninth UVA runner to earn All-American honors in the event in addition to ranking second on the Virginia all-time list.

The Virginia women began competition Thursday. Helena Lindsay competes in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, Jada Seaman will run the 200 meters and Maria Deaviz competes in the shot put.