BOSTON, Mass. (theACC.com) – After the opening day of the 2026 Atlantic Coast Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships, the Virginia men and Notre Dame women led the fields at the TRACK at new balance in Boston, Massachusetts. The Cavaliers tallied 45 points to lead the men’s field, followed by Louisville with 23, and North Carolina with 22.5. On the women’s side, the Fighting Irish (25) hold a one-point advantage over Miami (24), and a two-point lead over third-place Virginia (23).
 
The scoring for the men’s competition kicked off with a gold medal-winning performance by Colton Sands of North Carolina in the 5000 meters. The senior crossed the finish line in 13:40.35, passing runner-up Gary Martin of Virginia (13:41.66) on the final lap. Virginia’s Nathan Mountain earned the bronze medal with a personal-best time of 13:43.18.
 
Louisville’s KJ Byrd cleared 5.55 meters (18-2.5) on his way to finishing first in the men’s pole vault. His teammate, Collin Pate, and Duke’s TJ Rowan, shared second-place honors, each clearing 5.25 meters (17-2.75) on their second attempt.
 
With 20 meters to go in the men’s distance medley relay, Wake Forest’s Paul Specht made a late-kick, passing Virginia, and pushing the Demon Deacons (9:35.29) to its first men’s DMR title since 2002. The Demon Deacons finished just one-tenth of a second ahead of Virginia (9:35.39) and less than one-quarter of a second ahead of Stanford (9:36.50).
 
In the men’s weight throw, Virginia’s Nikolas Polychroniou secured the top spot on the podium with a throw of 23.06 meters (75-8). He led a trio of Cavaliers who finished in the top four of the event, including bronze medalist Jeremiah Nubbe (22.56m/74-0.25). Notre Dame’s Benjamin Pable finished second with a mark of 22.94 meters (75-3.25).
 
Clemson’s duo of Shyhiem Scotland and Brandon Pottinger took the top two spots in the men’s high jump. Both cleared a mark of 2.14 meters (7-0.25) with Scotland earning first place by posting the mark on his first jump. Pottinger cleared the height on his second attempt to finish second, while Miami’s Kennedy Sauder earned a third-place finish with a height of 2.11 meters (6-11).
 
On the women’s side on day one, Wake Forest sophomore Seren Rodgers won the women’s pentathlon, logging 3,989 points. Rodgers won the long jump and finished third in the high jump for the Demon Deacons’ first pentathlon title since Anna Bush in 2021. Notre Dame’s Lauren Huber earned the silver medal with 3,968 points, while Virginia’s Elsa Spoor took bronze with 3,841 points.
 
Boston College’s Imogen Gardiner won the women’s 5000-meter run with a winning time of 15:43.73, becoming the Eagles’ first-ever champion in the event. She beat the field by nearly five seconds with Notre Dame’s Mary Bonner Dalton (15:48.14) finishing second and Virginia’s Gillian Bushee (15:48.47) taking third.
 
The women’s distance medley relay also came down to a late kick, this time by Duke’s Stephanie Moss. With 30 meters remaining, Moss overtook NC State and lifted the Blue Devils to the DMR title. NC State finished second (10:52.59), while Boston College took third (10:54.09).
 
Miami closed the evening by sweeping the podium in the women’s weight throw. The Hurricanes were led by Tania Da Silva, who recorded a mark of 21.78 meters (71-5.5) to become Miami’s first conference champion in the event since 2021. Da Silva was joined on the podium by teammates Jocelyn Pringle (21.54m/70-8) and Calea Jackson (21.39m/70-2.25), vaulting the Hurricanes into second place to close the opening day of action.