Cavaliers Now

Virginia Men's Track & Field Wins First Outright ACC Outdoor Championship

Matt Newton

Virginia celebrates with the trophy after winning the 2024 ACC Outdoor Men's Track & Field Championship in Atlanta, Georgia.
Virginia celebrates with the trophy after winning the 2024 ACC Outdoor Men's Track & Field Championship in Atlanta, Georgia. / Virginia Athletics

For the first time in program history, Virginia won the outright ACC Outdoor Men's Track & Field Championship. 15 years after sharing the conference title with Florida State in 2009, which was the only other time they claimed even a share of the ACC crown, the Cavaliers won the championship all to themselves, holding off rival Virginia Tech by 4.67 points as the meet came down to the final event, but ended with Virginia winning the 2024 ACC Outdoor Men's Track & Field Championship on Saturday night at Georgia Tech's George C. Griffin Track & Field Facility in Atlanta.

On the first day of competition on Thursday, Virginia notched two podium finishes as Will Anthony took second in the men's 10,000m in 29:18.80, while John Fay earned a bronze in the men's hammer throw thanks to a 66.55m throw on his first attempt.

Friday saw UVA's Nate Mountain and Yasin Sado go 1-2 in the men's 3000m steeplechase, as Mountain won his second-consecutive title in the event and broke the meet record with a time of 8:30.05. Sado finished in 8:30.78, marking the second year in a row that two Cavaliers have gone first and second in the event. Also on Friday, Ethan Robinson took bronze in the decathlon with 7,435 points, earning a First-Team All-ACC Selection after making the Second Team last year. The UVA men wrapped up day two in second place in the team standings with 52 points, 6.33 points behind first-place Duke.

On the final day of competition on Saturday, Gary Martin and Wes Porter placed second and third, respectively, in the men's 1500m. Martin finished in 3:40.87 with Porter behind him in 3:42.13, earning two critical podium finishes for the Cavaliers.

Jacob Lemmon earned a silver medal in the men's discus with a throw of 60.31m on his third attempt, bouncing back after missing last season with an injury. Alex Sherman also picked up a silver medal in the men's 400m hurdles with a personal-record time of 50.34, the second-fastest mark in program history.

Meanwhile, Will Anthony followed up his silver in the 10,000m with a bronze in the 5000m, finishing third in 13:40.17. Shane Cohen posted yet another podium finish for Virginia, taking bronze in the 800m with a personal record of 1:46.89 thanks to a late surge in the final 100 meters.

Entering the final event of the meet, Virginia sat atop the standings, but led by only four points. A sixth-place finish by Jaden Lyons, Alex Sherman, Gage Gose, and Evans White IV in the 4x400m relay proved to be enough. Virginia Tech won the event, but finished with 102.33 points to UVA's 107, giving the Cavaliers their first outright conference championship in program history.

The Virginia women had a great showing in Atlanta as well. Margot Appleton captured her second-straight women's 1500m title with a finish of 4:11.04, three seconds faster than her title run in 2023. Appleton became the first Cavalier to ever win the 1500m title in consecutive seasons (Claire Forbes in 1990 and 1991) and then took bronze in the 5000m, finishing in 15:36.95.

FIU transfer Celia Rifaterra won a silver medal in her ACC Championships debut, taking second in the high jump with a mark of 1.79m.

The Virginia women tied for third with Notre Dame in the team standings with 74 total points.

Final ACC Men's Team Standings
1. Virginia – 107
2. Virginia Tech – 102.33
3. North Carolina – 102
4. Florida State – 95
5. Miami – 83
6. Clemson – 77.33
7. Duke – 70.33
8. Pittsburgh – 37
9. Notre Dame – 35
10. Syracuse – 30
10. Wake Forest – 30
12. Louisville – 20
13. NC State – 13
14. Georgia Tech – 12
15. Boston College – 5

Final ACC Women's Team Standings
1. Duke – 133
2. Clemson – 118.5
3. Virginia – 74
3. Notre Dame - 74
5. Florida State – 68
6. Miami – 66
7. Virginia Tech – 63
8. Louisville – 42
9. NC State – 39.5
10. Pittsburgh – 37
10. Wake Forest – 37
12. Georgia Tech – 23
13. North Carolina – 19
14. Syracuse – 18
15. Boston College – 6

As both the Virginia men and women placed above Virginia Tech in the team standings, the Cavaliers earned two more points in the 2023-2024 Commonwealth Clash, which Virginia has already clinched and now leads 14-7.

Virginia's two teams combined for 24 All-ACC performances at the 2024 ACC Outdoor Track & Field Championships:

UVA Men
First Team: Will Anthony (5000m, 10,000m), John Fay (Hammer Throw), Jacob Lemmon (Discus Throw), Gary Martin (1500m), Nathan Mountain (3000m Steeplechase), Ethan Robinson (Decathlon), Yasin Sado (3000m Steeplechase), Alex Sherman (400m Hurdles), Wes Porter (1500m)
Second Team: Justin Wachtel (10,000m), Tyler Zawatski (Javelin Throw)

UVA Women
First Team: Margot Appleton (1500m, 5000m), Celia Rifaterra (High Jump), Samantha Romano (Pole Vault)
Second Team: Sarah Akpan (100m, 200m), Bree Lumpkin (Shot Put), Camryn Menninger (10,000m), Samantha Romano (Pole Vault), Carly Tarentino (High Jump), Carolina Timm (1500m), Janae Profit (Discus Throw)

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Matt Newton
MATT NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.