CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.—Senior thrower Andrew Grinnell (New Milford, Conn.) recorded a personal best mark in the javelin in his first outing of the season as Villanova opened two days of competition at the Virginia Challenge on Friday afternoon. Grinnell threw for 64.85 meters and the Wildcats produced two other season best performances at Lannigan Field.
 
Friday was Grinnell's first competition since last year's NCAA East Preliminary and he looked in midseason form as he uncorked the longest throw of his career on his first attempt of the day. Grinnell had thrown for over 64 meters on two previous occasions in his career and his PR entering the day was 64.69 meters set on May 13, 2022 at the BIG EAST Championships in his home state. He already ranked fifth in school history with the current javelin implement and cemented that spot with Friday's performance.
 
Grinnell finished fifth out of 25 competitors and fellow senior Nick Coffey (Cranston, R.I.) placed ninth with a throw of 62.87 meters. Junior multi-event athlete Justin Miller (Collierville, Tenn.) recorded a mark of 48.84 meters.
 
Senior sprinter Jakob Kunzer (George Town, Grand Cayman) and junior thrower Tristan Bolinsky (Gordon, Pa.) notched season best marks in their respective events. Kunzer tallied a time of 48.69 in the 400 meters and finished ahead of sophomore Jimmy Milgie (Wildwood, Mo.) who posted a mark of 49.21; Milgie had run the exact time of 48.69 earlier this season which Kunzer matched on Friday afternoon.
 
Bolinsky threw for 47.11 meters in the discus and came in third in his flight with his longest throw of the season. One other field event was on Friday's event schedule and it featured fifth year collegian Kelechi Eziri (Charlotte, N.C.) who registered a mark of 13.69 meters in the triple jump. Eziri, who is in his first season at Villanova, opened up his outdoor campaign after tallying a fifth place finish in the triple jump at the indoor BIG EAST Championships earlier this year.
 
Freshman sprinter Parker Turner (Los Angeles, Calif.) and sophomore Amiri Prescod (Chaguanas, Trinidad and Tobago) each ran in the preliminary heats of the 100 meters. Turner matched his top time of the season with a mark of 10.78 and Prescod tallied a time of 10.87.
 
Saturday's schedule begins with the men's hammer competition and will feature events on the track later in the day beginning with the 400 meter hurdles at 3:20 p.m.