Saturday, the NC State men’s and women’s track and field teams made the short journey to Chapel Hill to compete in the Dick Taylor Carolina Cup. The quad-style meet featured competition from in-state rivals UNC, Duke, and East Carolina University. There, the Pack rose to the occasion and produced some dazzling early season performances.
On the men’s side, the team was headlined by a strong showing in the sprint events. Sophomore Cravont Charleston took first place in the 60-meter dash with a swift mark of 6.75.
The ACC outdoor 100-meter champion was also accompanied by sophomore Dylan Peebles who took second with a personal record of 6.85.
Other top podium finishes in the sprints included the men’s 4×400-meter relay composed of senior Shannon Patterson, sophomore Dylan Peebles, freshman Will Hoffman and redshirt junior Abdur Rahmaan Kelly. The quartet’s time of 3:18.15 was enough for first-place honors.
In the field, the men were led by another strong showing from redshirt senior Joshua Davis. The Pelham, North Carolina, native and school record holder took first in the weight throw with an effort of 66’7”. The victory marks his third consecutive win in the event this season.
In the jumps, freshman Ja’von Douglas put together an impressive 23’0” leap, sufficient for second place.
On the women’s side, the team was led by an outstanding performance from junior Gabriele Cunningham. The Charlotte native took home gold in the 60-meter hurdles and silver in the 60m dash, earning personal records in both events.
In the hurdles, Cunningham lowered her personal best down to an 8.22. While this mark is a personal record, it also moves her up to third on the NC State all-time list for the women’s indoor 60m hurdles.
On top of her impressive showing in the hurdles, Cunningham had similar success in the 60m dash where she lowered her own school record down to a 7.35.
In the middle distance, redshirt junior Megan Rempel provided another top performance on the track with her second-place finish in the women’s 800-meter with a stellar time of 2:14.09.
In the field, the women were equally successful. Senior Javonne Antoine took home first in the triple jump with a 40’4” performance.
Meanwhile, redshirt junior Lauren Evans was victorious in the weight throw, tallying her second consecutive win of the season. The Fayetteville, North Carolina, native’s mark of 62’1.75” was just over five feet shy of her personal record.
This weekend, the Pack will travel to the VMI Keydet Invitational where it will look to build upon its positive momentum.
Sophomore Aaron Thomas jumps over one of the obstacles placed on the track for the 3000m men's steeplechase, a race that featured four barriers and a water jump. Thomas competed in the steeplechase at the Adidas Raleigh Relays held at Paul Derr Track on Friday, March 24, 2017, and finished sixth overall with a time of 9:13.09, just 11 seconds behind the first place finisher.
