The NC State indoor track & field team concluded a stellar performance, including several top-five finishes, this past weekend at the Virginia Tech Invitational.
The team competed in a variety of events over the weekend, including triple jump, hurdles, shot put, pole vault and relays. After the first day of action concluded, the Wolfpack had nine top-five finishes, and junior runner/hurdler Alexis Perry and junior jumper Jonathan Addison each recorded personal bests in their respective events.
Perry posted one of the better highlights of the night after a first-place finish in the final heat of the 60-meter hurdles, posting an 8.24, marking her best time yet.
Addison placed third in the 60-meter dash with a career-best 6.79. Paisley Simmons finished second in the women’s 60-meter dash after posting a 7.60, her second-best time of the season.
Redshirt junior Nicole Chavis extended her weight throw winning streak to four after recording a 66.15-foot throw.
On the men’s side, redshirt senior Jule Rich and redshirt freshman Joshua Davis each placed in the top five. Rich placed first, throwing a season-high 61.11 feet, while Davis finished fifth after a 60.375-foot throw.
In the women’s triple jump, freshman Javonne Antoine had a solid outing posting a 40.325-foot mark, a career best for the freshman out of Beltsville, Maryland.
Three members of the Pack recorded impressive results in the 500-meter run. With a ninth-place finish, freshman Abdur Rahmaan Kelly recorded a 1:05.32 time while fellow teammates Jon Knight and Clay Jones each finished at the top of their respective heats. Knight and Jones also recorded top-10 finishes in the 1000-meter distance run.
Junior Brian Davis posted a solid time of 1:04.49 in the 500-meter run, finishing fifth, while sophomore Will Krehnbrink finished first in his heat after recording a time of 35.00, good enough for a 10th-place finish overall.
After the second day came and went, the Pack finished with seven student-athletes placing in the top-five, with a couple receiving national marks to boot.
Perry earned first-place finishes in both the long jump and 60-meter hurdles, with her 20.10-foot mark in the long jump tying with Kentucky’s Sha’Keela Saunders for the best mark in the nation.
Addison had a second-place finish with a distance of 24.10 feet, and sophomore Tiana Patillo placed fifth overall and second in her own heat after posting a time of 56.95 in the 400-meter run. Davis finished sixth in the men’s 400-meter run after posting a time of 49.21 seconds.
Rich posted a distance of 50.475 inches in the men’s shot put, earning another top-five finish for the Wolfpack, and Rich’s sixth top-five finish this season.
The All-American Watkins continued her stellar season by placing second in the women’s shot put with a 60-foot throw. Also competing was redshirt sophomore Alyssa Dunn with a third-place finish.
In the men’s 200-meter, freshman Quashawn Cunningham placed fifth with a time of 21.59 seconds, while on the women’s side, Simmons finished the meet with a strong time of 24.66 seconds.
“We are trying to get better each week,” NC State track & field head coach Rollie Geiger said. “We are trying to prepare ourselves for the conference championships. I fully expect all of our athletes to get better each weekend. We will compete again next week to give everyone another chance to keep improving.”
Up next, the Pack is scheduled to compete at a pair of events this weekend. NC State will compete at the Hokie Elite back in Blacksburg, Virginia, and the Bob Pollack Invitational in Clemson, South Carolina.
