NC State track and field started its season on the road in the Gamecock Opener hosted by the South Carolina Gamecocks on Saturday, Jan 16. The historic meet featuring 10 schools saw 16 top-5 finishes from the Wolfpack.
In the sprints, senior Von Douglas posted a personal best in the men’s 60-meter dash final, finishing eighth with a time of 6.94. Freshman Mia D’Ambrosio’s college debut went well, finishing in third in the women’s 60-meter dash with a time of 7.70.
In the hurdles, sophomore Ally Henson, redshirt junior Mikieja Covington and senior Alexis Postell finished third, fourth and fifth, respectively.
The jumpers earned some podium spots as well. Douglas, junior Jamar Davis and sophomore Chris Alexander finished fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively, in the men’s high jump. These marks all broke the previous facility record, which now belongs to Florida State’s Isaac Grimes for his 8.00-meter finish.
On the women’s side of that event, senior Michelle Cobb and sophomore Jirah Sidberry finished third with a distance of 5.57 meters and fourth with a distance of 5.54 meters, respectively. Both Cobb and Sidberry also broke the previously standing facility record, which is now owned by Florida State’s Alonie Sutton at 5.98 meters.
In the men’s triple jump, Alexander and Davis finished third with a distance of 15.37 meters and fourth with a distance of 14.93 meters, respectively. In what became a trend for the event, both marks broke the previous site record but were outperformed by a Florida State Seminole, this time Isaac Grimes at 15.65 meters.
Although no NC State athletes competed in either event, two other noteworthy performances were made. South Carolina’s Jackson Marseille eked out a new NCAA record in the men’s high jump at 2.14 meters, which previously stood at 2.08 meters. UNC-Charlotte teammates Jacob Davis and Chandler Ward also tied the NCAA record for the men’s pole vault, posting a height of 4.70 meters and J4.70 meters, respectively.
In the throwing department, junior Kayla Beasley finished third in the women’s weight throw with a personal-best 16.94 meters. Redshirt senior Tyson Fortenberry also recorded a third-place finish on the men’s side with a distance of 17.14 meters.
To round out the meet, the women’s 4×400 relay team finished third with a time of 4:09.64, notching the Pack’s seventh third-place finish of the weekend.
The Pack will continue its season as it travels to Virginia Tech for the Hokie Invitational on Jan. 22-23.
