Track and Field Wraps Up Viriginia Challenge

Friday, April 17

Charlottesville, Va.

Army West Point

Virginia Challenge

Skye Chambers runs ahead of Navy athletes at the Star Meet in the 800 meter race

Track and Field Wraps Up Viriginia Challenge

April 18, 2026 | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – A number of Army West Point track athletes competed at the Virginia Challenge on Friday and Saturday.

Mikayla Cheney and Nathan Davis had the highlights of the weekend, as they both set a program record. Cheney continues to sit atop of the Army records in the 1500m invite, as she posted a 4:13.04 to finish third in the race. Davis recorded an impressive 8:32.31 in the 3000m steeplechase invite.

In total, Army had 10 top 10 finishes on the weekend.

On Friday, Alma Lazo Cazares finished 10^th in the 1500m for the Black Knights. In the 5000m, Army got good showings from Abigail Garner (17:09.81) and Leah Richardson (17:18.89), who finished sixth and ninth.

In the women's 800m, Skye Chambers impressed with a 2:05.16, which marks a new personal best. Lauren Gallagher (2:08.15) and Grace Coppel (2:09.21) also posted personal bests.

In the 3000m steeplechase invite, Claire Lewis finished in third with a personal best of 10:22.04 to finish third. Alexandra Volkart finished in seventh at 10:42.81, which was also a personal best.

On the men's side, Andrew Lee won the 3000m steeplechase with a personal-best time of 9:05.20. In the 10000m, Gavin Hansen finished fifth with a time of 30:52.12. Kasen Jeitz performed well in the 800m invite, finishing 14^th with a personal best 1:47.36. Ammon Smith (1:48.53) and Todd Worth (1:48.78) also posted personal bests in the 800m.

ECAC/IC4A Championships
Army is continuing to compete in the ECAC Championships on Sunday in Piscataway, N.J.

Quotable – Director of Track and Field Mike Smith
"I cannot recall a meet with better conditions for racing than what we had here this weekend in Charlottesville. It was ideal for middle distance/distance running, and our men and women took advantage. We had a lot of highlights from the evening to include personal bests, Patriot League leading marks, Army all-time top 10 performances, Academy records and Service Academy records. I would normally expect to see some leveling of performances coming off the emotion of the Star meet last weekend. We kept our training fairly flat this week in anticipation of the need to recover but that recovery is highly individual. The results tell me that we recovered well. We had some great runs Friday evening in the 1500's and 800's including a significant improvement for all three of our guys in the 800 meters headlined by Kasen Jeitz' '26 clocking of 1:47.36. It was more of the same in the women's 800 led by Skye Chambers' '27 new outdoor personal best of 2:05.16. The biggest performance jumps on the evening were registered by Nate Davis '26 and Mikayla Cheney '27. Nate Davis claimed 3rd place in the 3000m steeplechase in running 8:32.31. That time bettered his own Academy record set last spring at the NCAA meet in Eugene, Oregon and toppled the longest standing Service Academy record on the books (8:32.44) set back in 1981….and while Nate was willing to acknowledge the significance of his accomplishment, his disappointment in placing third in the race was evident "I didn't compete on the last lap the way I need to against the really good guys. I have a lot of sharpening to do, and I will make sure that I am where I need to be when it matters in May and June. I won't let this happen again."
Mikayla Cheney '27 continued her assault on the record books bettering her own 1500-meter record set two weeks ago at the Florida relays with a new Academy record of 4:13.04. The race broke up quickly and Mikayla found herself running alone in 3^rdfrom 800 meters to the finish. The 2 women out in front of her were running a very fast early pace; and Mikayla held back. Admittedly, she was a little flat coming off her dominating performance at the Star meet. We were prepared for that possibility, and she was instructed to go out and focus on the competition. I thought she ran really well in what ended up being almost a time trial. "I was hoping to improve my racing skills, and I wish that I had committed and run with the two women up front. I was thinking too much, and I just need to trust my training and go for it." Her ascension to the top of the NCAA lists in the 1500 meters has been rapid and she is in the midst of a transition from racing at a level that will get her to the NCAA meet vs. racing with and against the women that will make the NCAA final in June. She is almost there. The next breakthrough is coming and when it does, she will have taken her game from good to great."