Charlottesville, Va. – The UMBC men's outdoor track & field squad opened the 2026 University of Virginia Challenge, a prestigious meet drawing top collegiate programs, with some excellent results on Friday.

Justin Banks was just four tenths of a second off his own school record in the 1,500-meter invite as he placed 20th overall with a time of 3:44.37.  Joey Ensor and Grayson Ruffner also turned in terrific performances in the same event.  Ensor, who already holds the second-best performance in school history in the event, placed 24th in 3:46.01 while Ruffner placed 33rd in 3:51.66.

Alim Raji finished 16th in the 100 meters with a time of 10.77, just shy of a personal best.

Toren Burr placed 25th in the hammer throw with a toss of 51.85 meters (170-1).

The event will continue on Saturday morning,