Before the outdoor track and field season began, coach Rollie Geiger was asked which freshmen he thought could make an impact during the outdoor season.

He named a trio of freshmen at the time: Kara McKenna, John Martinez and Robert Bedsole. The trio preformed well at the ACC Outdoor Championships last weekend, including an all-ACC performance from Martinez.

Martinez, a redshirt freshman from Stony Point, N.Y., took third in the steeplechase. Geiger said the ACC features a Florida State team that has legitimate national title hopes and Clemson, which should finish in the top 15 nationally. Even before the conference championships, Martinez had recorded a time good enough to qualify him for NCAA Regionals.

Martinez’ success in the steeplechase event, a race that covers 3,000 meters and 27 jumps over barriers, including a water jump, continued a trend. He scored points for the Pack during the ACC Indoor Championships, running the lead leg on the distance medley relay and also in the 3,000 meters. Geiger said Martinez’ Indoor Championship performance was “terrific and was a big part in the team’s final placing [third].”

He was also a junior national champion in high school for the steeplechase, an event not around in North Carolina and many other states’s high school track and field competitions.

“I learned a lot [about steeplechase] in high school to carry on to the next level, which helped me transition better [into college competition],” Martinez said. “It’s exciting to be in the ACC. It’s growing a lot and getting a lot more competitive.”

A fellow Pack athlete hailing from New York and steeplechase competitor is freshman Kara McKenna. McKenna entered the conference championship meet having recorded the eighth-best time on the season for the steeplechase in the conference.

She also said running the event in high school, where she had one of the leading marks in the country, according to Geiger, has helped her transition to college competition.

“It helps to have done it already, but it jumps up from 2,000 to 3,000 meters,” McKenna said. “So that’s a challenge.”

McKenna responded to the challenge by turning in the team’s second-best steeplechase performance at ACC championships, behind senior teammate Kristina Roth, who took third.McKenna said this year’s team has a strong upper class and just “being a part of the team is exciting.”

Bedsole, a distance runner from Bessemer, Ala., redshirted alongside Martinez last year. Both, according to Geiger, had suffered from some physical injuries last year, which contributed to the redshirting. The other reason was getting them accustomed to better competition.

“They weren’t ready for ACC-level competition,and I didn’t want to throw away a year of eligibility,” Geiger said. “They are much more ready this year than last.”

Bedsole took 10th place at the outdoor conference meet in the 10,000-meter event. He said his goal coming into the year was to “run well and get ready to take the wheel when the older guys have to leave.”

Geiger also mentioned a fourth freshman, Bona Jones, a cross country All-American from the fall. Jones, a true freshman, has been attempting to recover from a tendon injury and has been unable to compete yet this spring.

Jones would be a shoe-in as an impact distance runner if she could compete based on her fall performances. After finishing fourth at the ACC cross country championships, she turned in an All-American performance at national competition. Jones is also the 10th Wolfpack runner to qualify for the USA cross country national or junior national team.

Despite the differences between cross country and track, Geiger said Jones can make a positive impact on the track team.

“If you’re able to All-American in cross country, that’s going to translate to you being an outstanding athlete on the track,” he said.

Several other freshmen made an impact at ACCs, scoring points for the Pack. Redshirt freshman Jason Jones scored points in the shot put competition and missed scoring by one place in the hammer throw. Two true freshman jumpers also made an impact at ACC championships for the women’s team. Kayla Lawson took fifth in the high jump and DeMiracle Washington took eighth in the triple jump.