Virginia Throws and Decathlon Highlight First Day of Competition at Duke Invitational and Carl Kight Invitational
DURHAM, N.C. – The Virginia men’s and women’s track and field programs kickstarted competition at the Duke Invitational at Morris Williams Track & Field Stadium in Durham, N.C., and the Carl Kight Invitational at Homer Bryce Stadium in Nacogdoches, Texas, as Henry Sullivan and Ethan Robinson took on the men’s decathlon while Annika Kelly won the women’s hammer throw competition.
Cavaliers Throw it Down at Duke
- Annika Kelly won the women’s hammer throw with her second-round throw of 63.45m/208-2.
- Kelly was not too far off her Virginia record of 63.71m/212-3 from the 2025 Raleigh Relays.
- In her first hammer throw competition of the season, Estel Valeanu threw her way into the record books on her third appearance in the ring.
- Valeanu threw a new personal-best 58.97m/193-5 to finish third in the field and rank fifth all-time in program history.
- On his fifth attempt in the men’s hammer throw, Keyandre Davis recorded a new personal best of 63.53m/208-5 to finish third overall (second among collegiate athletes) and better his Virginia No.8 mark.
- Just behind Davis was John Fay in fourth place, third among collegiate athletes, with his mark of 63.47m/208-3.
- Also in the men’s hammer throw, Mark Cyr threw a new personal best of 60.11m/197-2 to better his Virginia freshman No.3 mark. Cyr finished eighth in the competition, seventh among collegiate athletes.
Day 1 in the Decathlon in Durham
- Henry Sullivan began competition in the men’s decathlon at the Duke Invitational in Durham, N.C. After the first day of competition, Sullivan sits in fourth place with 3383 points.
- In the first event of the competition, Sullivan recorded a third-place finish in the 100-meter dash in a new personal-best 11.08.
- In the long jump, Sullivan leapt out to a new outdoor personal best 5.92m/19-5.25 on his third and final attempt of the competition.
- After three attempts, Sullivan’s best mark of 12.67m/41-7 was good for second place in the shot put.
- In the high jump, Sullivan cleared 1.72m/5-7.75 to finish in eighth place.
- Sullivan capped off the first day of competition with a new personal best of 51.12 for 400-meters to finish in third place.
Decathlon Day 1 at Carl Kight Invitational
- Ethan Robinson opened competition in the men’s decathlon at the Carl Kight Invitational in Nacogdoches, Texas. Robinson sits in first place with a total of 4025 points at the conclusion of the first day of competition.
- Robinson started the competition on a high note, winning the 100-meter dash with his time of 10.79. He was just off his personal best in the event of 10.69.
- Jumping out 7.15m/23-5.50 on his third and final attempt, Robinson landed atop the leaderboard in the long jump.
- On his second throw, Robinson launched one out 12.08m/39-7.50 to finish fourth in the shot put.
- Clearing 2.00m/6-6.75 on his first attempt, Robinson bested the field in the high jump competition.
- In the 400-meter dash, Robinson won his fourth of five events by just over two seconds.
Up Next
The Cavaliers continue competition at the Duke Invitational in Durham, N.C., on Friday (April 11) with the second day of events set to begin with the women’s discus throw at 9:30 a.m. ET. Ethan Robinson will continue competition at the Carl Kight Invitational in Nacogdoches, Texas, beginning with the decathlon 110-meter hurdles at 9 a.m. CT.