The NC State men’s and women’s track and field teams will venture up to Blacksburg, Virginia Thursday through Saturday to compete in the Hokie Invitational at the top-notch Rector Field House.
The competition will be dense. In addition to hosts and reigning ACC men’s outdoor champs Virginia Tech, Duke and ECU will also be present. Known for producing fast times, running event participants will look to capitalize on the facility’s banked track surface.
So far this season, the Pack has produced an abundance of outstanding indoor track and field performances.
On the men’s side, redshirt junior Joshua Davis broke his old weight throw school record at last weekend’s Carolina Cup. The Pelham, North Carolina native heaved the weight throw to 70 feet, five and three-quarter inches, a mark that currently ranks second in the entire NCAA. Entered in the weight throw again this weekend, Davis will look to further improve his already stellar mark.
Freshman Cravont Charleston had a splendid collegiate debut at the Carolina Cup. The Mallard Creek alum stunned the field with his blazing 6.68 60-meter dash. His mark was good enough for a first-place finish and ACC indoor championship qualification. In addition to another run at 60m, Charleston will look to make more strides in his 200m debut this weekend.
Last weekend, junior Shannon Patterson and freshman Dylan Peebles also competed in the 60m dash and concluded the event sweep, finishing second and third, respectively. Patterson’s mark of 6.89 qualifies him for the ACC Championship, while Peebles’ time of 6.91 puts him a fraction from the ACC standard.
Like Charleston, Peebles will also make his indoor 200m debut. On the other hand, Patterson, who won the 200m last week, will transition up to the 300m distance this weekend.
Returning to the Wolfpack’s deep sprint lineup are junior Quashawn Cunningham and sophomore Nyheim Hines.
Last winter, Cunningham had a fruitful indoor season. At ACC’s, the Charlotte native medaled in both the 60m and 200m dash. This weekend, the seasoned junior will look to open up competition in his specialty events: the 60m and 200m dashes.
Hines, who earned All-ACC honors last winter, will begin his 2017 indoor campaign this weekend in the 60m dash.
On the women’s side, performances have been equally as stellar.
At last weekend’s Carolina Cup, redshirt sophomore Lauren Evans earned second in the weight throw. Her mark of 60 feet, seven and one-quarter inches, was a new personal record and establishes her as fourth all-time on the NC State women’s indoor weight throw list. Entered in both weight throw and shot put, the Fayetteville, North Carolina native will look to improve upon her early season marks.
Junior Javonne Antoine will partner with Evans in the field events. Antoine will make her first triple jump appearance this winter. Last season, the junior placed fourth at the ACC Indoor Track Championship meet.
In addition to the field events, the Pack will look to showcase its distance depth at Blacksburg. Redshirt sophomore Rachel Koon and sophomore Ryen Frazier are entered in the mile run. The duo has already produced outstanding marks earlier this season.
Last month at the BU Opener, Koon placed eighth in the 5,000m, while Frazier finished 10th. Koon’s time of 16:04.01 also ranks as the sixth fastest indoor 5,000m mark in school history, which established her as 24th in the NCAA.
Frazier’s clocking of 16:27.74, places her eighth on the NC State all-time indoor list. The competition was also Frazier’s first track and field appearance in a Wolfpack jersey.
The competition is scheduled to kick off Thursday with the men’s heptathlon and conclude Saturday evening with the men’s 4x400m relay.
Off to a fantastic start, expect the Pack to produce even more jaw-dropping performances this weekend.
