Beginning their postseason, the Cavaliers went to Louisville, Ky. for the ACC Indoor Championships over the weekend. The Virginia men were the runner-ups — just seven points behind Virginia Tech — while the women took fourth place.
There was an abundance of impressive performances from the Cavaliers, including two Virginia records for junior Gary Martin and senior Ethan Robinson and three first place finishes from junior Jeremiah Nubbe, Martin and senior Margot Appleton.
Saturday started strongly for the Cavaliers with a win for Nubbe. He took the gold in the men’s weight throw with a throw of 23.67 meters, out-throwing the runner-up from Duke by 0.54 meters. Nubbe was under his school record of 23.94 from earlier this season, but it was a strong performance that his competitors struggled to keep up with.
Also nabbing a podium finish in the men’s weight throw was junior Keyandre Davis in third, throwing the 35 pound weight 21.15 meters.
In a marquee showdown, Martin clashed again with North Carolina senior Ethan Strand in the men’s 5,000 meters. Unfortunately, Martin was unable to keep pace with Strand in the last lap as Strand passed him and unleashed a final, lethal kick.
Martin took second with a time of 13:30.69, four seconds behind Strand but nine seconds ahead of the third place finisher. This marked another Virginia record for Martin, since Class of 2024 alumnus Yasin Sado had previously held the fastest school time.
Also of note, senior Sophie Atkinson placed fifth in the women’s 5,000 meters Saturday in 15:51.35, a personal best.
Moving into Sunday, the Cavaliers earned a pair of third place finishes in the high jump and the heptathlon.
Junior Celia Rifaterra took home the bronze in women’s high jump, clearing a height of 1.83 meters, which came as a season best and was 0.01 behind her Virginia personal record.
Busy breaking not one, not two, not three but four personal records within the heptathlon was senior Ethan Robinson — gaining him an overall PR of 5747. He broke his previous standards in shot put, high jump, pole vault and the 1,000 meter run as well as the Virginia school record. Robinson placed third overall in the event.
On the last day of competition, Virginia came away with two wins and a few other strong finishes — especially in the women’s mile.
The last lap of the women’s mile was a tight race between Appleton, Clemson sophomore Judy Kosgei and NC State sophomore Grace Hartman. Hartman started in the lead, but Appleton was close behind. Appleton decided to make her move as she came into the first straightaway and began to pass on the second curve. Kosgei had moved up with Appleton, and suddenly it was just between the two. Appleton just slightly outpaced Kosgei, taking the win for Virginia.
“I wanted to make my move at 150 to go, I waited a little longer because the pace was so hot,” Appleton said. “I knew once I made my move, I just had to go.”
Appleton finished in 4:26.21, breaking the ACC Championship meet record of 4:33.80. She also grabbed a third place finish in the women’s 3,000 meters in 8:51.27.
Martin came back hungry for a win in the men’s 3000-meter race Monday, the final day of competition. In his last lap, he pulled away from Wake Forest senior Luke Tewalt, who had been situated right behind Martin. Martin secured first place in a mere 7:36.69, also setting an ACC Championship meet record.
Martin’s fellow relay teammate, graduate student Wes Porter, took the podium for the men’s mile with his third place finish, running a time of 4:02.78.
Securing a fifth place finish in the women’s shot put, senior Brooke Lumpkin had a throw of 16.37 meters, while in the men’s 60 meter hurdles junior Peter Djan and Robinson took fourth and fifth with respective times of 7.77 and 7.81 seconds.
After a solid performance, the next and final race for the Cavaliers’ indoor track season will be the NCAA Indoor Championships in Virginia Beach, running March 14 and 15.
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