NC State track and field sent six athletes to the Winston-Salem College Kickoff and nine to the Sharon-Colyear Danville Season Opener in Boston, Massachusetts. The Pack recorded seven top-10 finishes in Winston-Salem and four top-25 finishes in Boston.
The Wolfpack athletes that made the trip to Boston competed in the distance events, with the best finish of the weekend belonging to graduate student Sam Bush’s 12th-place finish in the women’s 3000m with her time of 9:01.83. Junior Amaris Tyynismaa also competed in the event, clocking in at 9:12.68 and placing 24th.
Freshman Angelina Napoleon made her collegiate track debut in Boston, taking 13th place in the women’s mile with her time of 4:43.64. Freshman Kate Putman came in just over 16 seconds behind Napoleon, punching in at 4:59.86 and placing 29th.
Sophomore Grace Hartman, graduate student Mariah Howlett and senior Jenna Schulz rounded out the Wolfpack women’s lineup at the Sharon-Colyear invite by finishing 29th, 64th and 114th, respectively, in the 5000m. Hartman clocked in at 15:50.08 while Howlett came in at 16:17.37 and Schulz logged a time of 16:48.62.
On the men’s side, senior Brett Gardner crossed the finish line at 7:59.58 to take 22nd in the 3000m while graduate students Hannes Burger and Toby Gualter competed in the 5000m and took 52nd and 83rd, respectively. Burger recorded a time of 13:49.19 and Gaulter clocked in at 13:57.52.
In Winston-Salem, NC State mainly competed in field events, with the one exception being junior Jakerra Covington’s 15th-place finish in the women’s 60m hurdles with her time of 9.41 seconds. Covington also competed in the high jump, recording a mark of 1.54 meters to take seventh place.
The Pack also had three women compete in the shot put. In her collegiate debut, sophomore Ta’Honny Exum threw 13.76 meters to capture fifth place. Junior Sydney Freeman and senior Mahkayla Hart weren’t far behind, finishing in ninth and 10th place, respectively. Freeman threw for 12.48 meters while Hart recorded a mark of 12.44 meters.
Freeman and Hart also competed in the weight throw alongside senior Makala Wright, whose mark of 18.44 meters landed her a second-place finish in the event. Wright’s mark landed just .26 meters short of the first-place finisher’s throw. Freeman’s throw of 17.52 meters earned her sixth place while Hart’s throw of 16.50 meters put her in seventh place.
Sophomore Nathan Lau was the only NC State athlete who competed on the men’s side in Winston-Salem. Lau tallied a mark of 15.27 meters to earn 11th place in the weight throw.
The Pack will take an extended break from racing before its next outing, the Virginia Tech Invitational. This is a two-day event set to begin on Friday, Jan. 12 and conclude on Saturday, Jan. 13.
