Courtesy: Jason Watson/UVa Media Relations Greg Nelson

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - In the first day of the Charlotte 49er Invitational, freshmen Greg Nelson and Adams Abdulrazaaq have put together strong performances to lead the men’s decathlon. Freshman Anna Grant is currently fifth in the women’s heptathlon, with classmates Callie Hlavin and Katie Trizna close behind.

Nelson and Abdulrazaaq have had a solid opening day, as each are on pace to qualify provisionally for the NCAA Division I Championships in the decathlon. The duo has combined for seven personal-bests and a first-place finish for the Cavaliers in all but one of the events.

Nelson leads the men with 3567 points, gathering 776 by winning the high jump, despite stopping due to an ankle injury. He set personal-records in the 100m and 400m dashes, the long jump and the shot put. Nelson finished second in the 400m (49.93) and the long jump (6.20m). He also took third in the 100-meters (11.28) and fourth in the shot put, with a throw of 10.97m.

Abdulrazaaq trails Nelson by only 99 points, and took the top spots by setting personal-best marks in each of the 100m (10.97) and 400m (49.00) dashes and the shot put (12.48m). Abdulrazaaq also recorded a 1.62m mark in the high jump and a leap of 6.17m in the long jump.

Grant started strong in the heptathlon, taking fourth in the 100m hurdles in 15.44 and tying for seventh in the high jump, with a 1.49m mark. She also threw the sixth longest throw in the shot put, at 9.31m. She currently sits fifth with 2466 points.

Trizna took second in the 200m dash and the high jump, with a time of 26.98 and a jump of 1.61m, respectively. Hlavin recorded the same jump as Grant, tying for seventh in the high jump and finished eighth in the shot put, with a throw of 8.88m.

Events will continue tomorrow, beginning with the decathlon at 9 a.m., and conclude Saturday evening.