Over the weekend, the NC State men’s and women’s track and field teams ventured to Boston, Massachusetts, where they competed in the ACC Indoor Track and Field Championships. The men brought home fourth while the women’s team finished seventh.
The men’s fourth-place finish was its highest ACC Conference placing in five years. It was also a drastic improvement from last season’s ninth-place finish at this meet.
Early points were gathered on the first day of competition. This was largely due to success in the heptathlon and weight throw. In these contests, redshirt sophomore Grant Rivers and redshirt sophomore Joshua Davis earned eighth and third place, respectively. Rivers set a personal record of 5,039 points in the heptathlon, while Davis heaved the 35-pound weight to a school record distance of 69-11.
The men’s distance medley relay composed of redshirt sophomore Sebastian Hanson, senior Brian Davis, freshman Philip Hall and redshirt senior Meron Simon. They took home seventh-place honors with a team time of 9:49.05.
On Friday, senior Jonathan Addison cashed in 10 more points for the Wolfpack, taking home gold in long jump with a leap of 26 1/4. Freshman Christopher Garrick added on to the Wolfpack total. In his ACC Championship debut, Garrick finished fifth in high jump and achieved a mark of 6-11 3/4. Redshirt senior Luis Vargas concluded the Wolfpack’s scoring on Friday. Vargas placed fourth in a highly contested 5,000-meter run that saw the top-four runners separated by fewer than two seconds. Vargas’ final time was a swift 14:03.37.
On the last day of competition, the Pack completed the bulk of its scoring. In the early afternoon competition, redshirt senior Graham Crawford placed fourth in the men’s mile with a time of 4:03.19, and Simon placed seventh in the 3,000-meter run with a personal record of 8:08.94. Junior Will Krehnbrink earned eighth in the men’s quarter mile with a time of 48.81 to round out the bunch.
The Wolfpack was most heavily represented in the 60-meter dash final in a race where three of the top-eight competitors featured were Wolfpack runners. In this event, sophomore Quashawn Cunningham finished third with a time of 6.76 seconds, freshman Nyheim Hines placed sixth with 6.79 seconds and Addison rounded out scoring in the event with a seventh-place finish and a time of 6.83 seconds.
In the 200-meter event, Wolfpack depth in the sprints was further on display as Cunningham placed second with 21.26 seconds, and sophomore Shannon Patterson placed fifth with 21.52 seconds.
The 4×400-meter relay team concluded the men’s ACC meet scoring. The relay team of senior Brian Davis, Patterson, Cunningham and Krehnbrink completed the race in 3:15.03. Their efforts were good enough to earn a sixth-place standing in the event.
The team’s effort was enough to compile a total of 62 points. This total was good for fourth in the ACC conference meet.
On the women’s side, the team’s seventh place result was a slight drop from last year’s sixth-place performance.
On the first day of competition, points were earned in the weight throw. Redshirt senior Nicole Chavis finished fourth in the event. Chavis’ throw of 68-6 was enough to garner an early five points.
On Friday, the Pack achieved further success in the long jump and 5,000-meter event. Senior Alexis Perry finished fifth in the long jump with a distance of 19-6, while redshirt sophomore Erika Kemp placed third in the 5,000-meter event with a time of 15:55.03.
On the final day of competition, the women’s team scored the majority of its points. Redshirt junior Megan Moye finished second in the women’s mile with a time of 4:37.44.
Perry was able to continue this positive trend in the 60-meter hurdles. Perry brought home third with a personal record time of 8.21 seconds. The mark also moves Perry up to No. 17 nationally in the event.
In the field events, sophomore Javonne Antoine placed fourth in the triple jump, leaping a distance of 40-11 3/4.
The Wolfpack’s final points of the competition came in the 3,000-meter run. Moye’s personal-record performance of 9:22.80 was good for fourth place.
By the end of competition, the Pack gathered 42 points and earned a seventh-place finish in the ACC Championship meet.
Up next, the Wolfpack will send a few individuals to the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Birmingham, Alabama, March 11.
