Just one week after competing in the Virginia Tech Invitational, NC State track and field traveled back up to Blacksburg, Virginia to compete in the Hokie Invitational on Friday, Jan. 19 and Saturday, Jan. 20. The Pack posted six podium finishes on day one of competition and followed it up with six top-10 finishes on day two.
Day one
The first day of competition saw 36 red-and-white athletes compete in 11 different events. The women’s team tallied four top-three finishes on graduate student Sam Bush and sophomore Grace Hartman’s 1-2 punch in the mile, graduate student Jirrah Sidberry’s first-place finish in the long jump and Bush’s third-place finish in the 1000-meter.
Bush and Hartman both registered personal-best times in the mile at 4 minutes, 35.67 seconds and 4:36.52, respectively. Bush’s time ranks second in school history while Hartman’s is the fourth best.
Freshman Angelina Napoleon made her collegiate debut in the women’s 600-meter and did not disappoint — the rookie finished at 1:33.78 to take fifth place and set a new NC State record in the event. Napoleon also raced in the 1000, recording a time of 2:45.99 to move up to second in NC State history. Freshman Kate Putnam also made her collegiate debut in the 600, clocking in at 1:34.81 for the third-best time in Wolfpack history.
On the men’s side, senior Jake Toomey and junior Wesley Larson also made history in the 600-meter. Both athletes set personal bests in the event, with Toomey’s 1:20.15 putting him at second in the school record books and Larson’s 1:21.83 putting him at fifth-best in Pack history. Toomey also moved up to second in NC State history in the 1000-meter with a time of 2:24.21.
Day two
The second day of the invitational was much less eventful for the Wolfpack — on Saturday, just 14 athletes competed in seven events. The Pack’s best finish of the day came from sophomore Kyzaiah Stone in the men’s long jump. His leap of 2.09 meters put him in a tie for third place. freshman Judd Armstrong also competed in the event, earning fifth place with a mark of 1.99 meters.
In the women’s triple jump, freshman Jayda Hunter leapt 12.50 meters to finish in fourth place, followed by Sidberry in seventh place. Notably, sophomore Nathan Lau set a new personal best in the men’s shot put. His throw of 15.51 meters was good enough for seventh place.
Next week, the Wolfpack is set to split up to compete in two different meets — the Bob Pollock Meet in Clemson, South Carolina and the Camel City Invite in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
