Cavaliers Ready for NCAA East Preliminaries

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.– The Virginia men’s and women’s track and field teams are set to send 35 athletes to the NCAA East Preliminary hosted by the University of North Florida. The men’s events will take place on Wednesday (May 28) and Friday (May 30) while the women’s competition will be held on Thursday (May 29) and Saturday (May 31).

How To Follow
Live coverage of the NCAA Men’s and Women’s East Preliminary Round will be streamed live each day via ESPN+. Links to the ESPN+ live stream, live stats and the overall meet schedule are available at VirginiaSports.com. Updates will also be posted to the team’s official Twitter account (@UVAtfcc).
Meet Schedule
Live Results
Live Stream

Hoos Seeded in the Top-25
Women:

Men:

High Seeds
The Cavalier men will have 12 competitors entered in the competition with seven seeded in the top ten in their respective events. Virginia’s highest-seeded competitors include Keyandre Davis (10^th, HT), Andrew Jones (8^th, 10,000m), Gary Martin (2^nd, 5000m; 3^rd, 1500m) and Alex Sherman (8^th, 400mH).

The Cavalier women will have 18 individuals entered as well as both the 4×100 and 4×400 meter relay teams. Virginia’s highest-seeded competitors are Margot Appleton (1^st, 1500m; 4^th, 5000m), Lily Hulland (7^th, TJ), Celia Rifaterra (3^rd, HJ), Carly Tarentino (10^th, HJ) and Estel Valeanu (9^th, Shot Put).

Seeking a Return Trip
Seven Cavaliers enter the meet once again seeking to punch their ticket to the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Those athletes include Will Anthony, Sophie Atkinson, Margot Appleton, Christiana Ellina, Gary Martin, Celia Rifaterra, Estel Valeanu. Appleton and Valeanu look to punch their third straight ticket to the championships.

Three Cavaliers in Anthony (10,000m), Atkinson (10,000m), Appleton (1500m, 5000m), Ellina (JT), Martin (1500m), Rifaterra (HJ) and Valeanu (DT) will contest the same events for which they have competed previously at the championships. Valeanu will not only look to punch her ticket for the third straight year in the discus, but the senior is also entered in the shot put and hammer throw competitions.

1500m Dominance
Virginia is set to have three women in the 1500-meters first round including Margot Appleton, Tatum David and Stella Kermes. Appleton enters the competition as the number one seed with her time of 4:05.68 from the 2025 Raleigh Relays. She recently won her third straight title in the event at the ACC Outdoor Championships. After going after the Mile 3k double at the 2025 NCAA Indoor Championships, the senior looks to take on the 1500m 5000m double at this year’s outdoor championships. In 2024 Appleton finished fourth in the 5000m (15:24.24) and in 2023 she finished third in the 1500m (4:09.30).

Just a freshman, Kermes set a new personal best of 4:17.47 for 1500-meters in the prelim to qualify for her first ACC Outdoor Championship final. In the final, Kermes finished 11^th overall clocking 4:17.75. At the outdoor conference championships, David suffered a tough fall mid race ultimately leading to a 12^th place finish. David was a second team All-ACC honoree in the mile with a sixth-place finish at the ACC Indoor Championships. Entering the NCAA East Regional, the trio ranks first, 21^st and 40^th.

On the men’s side, Gary Martin enters the competition as the third seed with his time of 3:33.71. Martin’s time ranks fourth all-time in collegiate history. He sits on the list behind Liam Murphy (Villanova), Ethan Strand (North Carolina), Marco Langon (Villanova), all of whom will be in the field in Jacksonville. Alongside Martin will be Billy Atkinson with his season best of 3:41.24.

Noting the Cavaliers
Virginia’s four ACC Outdoor Champions including Margot Appleton (1500m), Christiana Ellina (JT), Celia Rifaterra (HJ) and Jenny Schilling (10,000m) are set to take on the field in Jacksonville. Rifaterra will look to continue her undefeated season in the women’s high jump. The junior was recently crowned the champion at the ACC Outdoor Championships clearing a personal-best 1.86m. Carly Tarentino tied for the silver equaling her personal best of 1.80m and will also be in the field. Rifaterra finished 18^th at the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Championships clearing 1.77m/5-9.75 to earn Honorable Mention accolades. Similarly, Ellina is determined to make her return to Eugene to better her 18^th place finish in the women’s javelin from the 2024 Outdoor Championships. Former UVA Club Running member, Schilling will look to continue her successful season and qualify for her first NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Sarah Akpan, Margot Appleton, Gillian Bushee, Gary Martin and Estel Valeanu are scheduled to double this weekend and in Valeanu’s case, triple. Akpan is entered in the women’s 100-meters and 200-meters. Appleton and Martin will take on the field in the men’s and women’s 1500-meters and 5000-meters. Gillian Bushee will compete in the 5000-meters and 10,000-meters. Valeanu’s trio of events include shot put, discus and hammer throw.

Complete List of Virginia Entries
Men

Women

On the Horizon:
The top 12 competitors from each individual event and the top 12 teams from each relay event advance from each first round to compete in the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Championships held on June 11-14 in Eugene, Oregon.