BLACKSBURG, Va. — The Virginia men’s and women’s track and field program kickstarted the new year at the Virginia Tech Invitational in Blacksburg, Va. on Friday (Jan. 16) as Sophia Akpan, Keyandre Davis, Charlotta Sandkulla and Nikolaos Polychroniou recorded program top ten marks.
Strength in the Throws
Strength in the Throws
- The Cavaliers went 1-2-3 in the men's weight throw competition.
- Jeremiah Nubbe led the way with a first-place finish throwing for 23.24m/76-3 on his third-round attempt.
- Keyandre Davis recorded a new personal best in second place throwing for 22.75m/74-7.75 and moved up to No. 3 all-time.
- Opening his season in Blacksburg, Nikolaos Polychroniou rounded out the top three finishers throwing for a new personal best of 22.14m/72-7.75 on his second attempt. Polychroniou's mark ranks No. 5 all-time in program history.
- In her Virginia debut, Charlotta Sandkulla won the women's weight throw competition with her fourth-round mark of 19.21m/63-0.25. Her mark ranks No. 2 all-time in program history just behind school record holder Eliese Mitchell's mark of 20.06m/65-9.75 from 2002.
- Bree Lumpkin recorded a season best on her penultimate attempt throwing for 17.96m/58-10.75 to finish in fourth place.
Speed from the Start
- Maya Rollins (8.44 Q) and Sophia Akpan (8.60 q PB) qualified for the final in the women's 60-meter hurdles.
- In the final, Sophia Akpan clocked a new personal best of 8.59 to finish third and become No. 10 all-time in program history in the women's 60-meter hurdles.
- Trio of Cavaliers including Ma'Kai Falkquay (7.64 q), Sarah Akpan (7.64 Q) and Peter Djan (6.83 Q) qualified for the final in the men's and women's 60-meter dash.
- Djan finished third in the men's 60-meter dash final, crossing the line in 6.84.
- In the men's 60-meter hurdles prelim, Djan led the way with a season best and second place finish clocking 7.91 while Henry Sullivan finished seventh and equaled his personal best of 8.21. Both qualified through to the final.
- In the final, Djan crossed the line in another season best of 7.85 to finish second while Sullivan clocked a new personal best of 8.09 to round out the top five finishers.
- Garrett McNeil and Anders Felts both recorded personal best times in the men's 60-meter hurdle prelim clocking 8.35 and 8.50 respectively.
- In the women's 300-meter dash, Ariel Fletcher (38.84) and Brooke'Lyn Drakeford (39.63 PB) recorded top ten finishes in third and sixth place.
More Notable Performances
- Madison Townsend rounded out the top three finishers in the women's pole vault unseeded section clearing 3.74m/12-3.25.
- In the men's pole vault unseeded section, Justin Rogers also finished in third place clearing a season best of 5.05m/16-6.75.
- The Cavaliers set a total of 10 personal bests, five season bests and four program top ten marks on the first day of competition.
Up Next
The Cavaliers will continue competition at the Virginia Tech Invitational tomorrow, Saturday, Jan. 17 at Rector Field House in Blacksburg, Va. Competition is set to begin with the men's high jump at 11 a.m.