Eighteen members of the NC State track and field team will head to Tampa, Florida this week to compete in the three-day NCAA East Preliminary Meet.
The Pack will have six student-athletes competing in the 5,000-meter run, the largest NC State contingent of any event. On the women’s side, redshirt senior Erika Kemp, redshirt sophomore Ryen Frazier, sophomore Elly Henes and redshirt freshman Dominique Clairmonte will all compete in the event that lasts just over three miles.
On the men’s side, redshirt senior Patrick Sheehan and redshirt freshman Joe Bistritz will run the 5,000m. Kemp leads the way for the Pack women, qualifying with the fourth-best time in the field of 15:43.28. Henes, who won the ACC Championship in the event, is seeded sixth with a time of 15:49.51.
Clairmonte is seeded eighth, while Frazier enters with the 41st-fastest qualifying time. For the men, Sheehan leads the two Wolfpack runners with the 17th-best time, at 13:57.09. Bistritz is 31st in the field, entering with a time of 14:05.75.
Junior sprinter Gabriele Cunningham is the only Pack athlete that will compete in more than one individual event, running both the 100-meter and 200-meter runs. Cunningham captured silver in the 200m at ACCs, and has the 16th-fastest qualifying time. She is seeded 14th in the 100m.
For the men, two Wolfpack sprinters will compete individually at the meet. Sophomore Cravont Charleston will run the 100-meter, while senior Shannon Patterson will compete in the 200-meter. Both men won their respective events at ACCs. Patterson’s 20.54 in the 200-meter has him seeded 15th, while Charleston is seeded 18th with a 10.21.
In addition to their individual sprints, Charleston and Patterson will likely also run in the 4×100-meter relay which they helped to win at the ACCs. NC State has the 10th-fastest time in the field. At ACCs, redshirt junior Abdur Rahmaah Kelly and sophomore Dylan Peebles joined Charleston and Patterson in the relay.
The 1,500-meter run will feature three NC State runners, two on the women’s side and one for the men. Redshirt junior Megan Rempel and redshirt freshman Anna Vess will run for the women, and junior Philip Hall will compete for the Pack men. None of the three is seeded higher than 30th.
Junior Elijah Moskowitz will compete in the 10,000-meter run, an event he was All-ACC in at last week’s ACC Championships. At 29:23.09, Moskowitz is seeded 14th. The other NC State runner to compete will be sophomore Gavin Gaynor in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
In the field, NC State will have three throwers and one jumper at prelims. Redshirt senior Joshua Davis is seeded 35th in the hammer throw, an event he was All-ACC in. Redshirt freshman Tyson Fortenberry will compete discus, where he is seeded 41st.
In the shot put, redshirt junior Lauren Evans enters with the 17th-best mark. The Pack’s lone jumper will be freshman Michelle Cobb. She is seeded 45th in the triple jump.
The meet will serve as a path to NCAA Championship qualification, with the top 12 finishers in every event advancing to the national meet in Eugene, Oregon in June. Things get started on May 24 in Tampa, and wrap up May 26.
