North Carolina State University Athletics
Track Sees Positive Results at UNC Fast Times
1/27/2007 12:00:00 AM | Track
Raleigh, N.C. – The NC State track and field teams were back in action this past weekend, competing at the UNC Fast Times meet in Chapel Hill. NC State had one automatic NCAA mark, and a NCAA provisional time as well. For the first time this season, the Pack’s distance runners competed.
Mitchell Pope secured his spot at the NCAA Championships in March, as he recorded his first NCAA automatic mark of the season. Pope took first place with his toss of 63’10.25”. Pope was also third in the weight throw (59’07”).
Chris Crawford also finished in the top-five in both of the throws. Crawford placed second in the weight throw (60’03.25”) and was fourth in the shot put (52’07.50”). Jason Jones was seventh in both the shot put (48’02”) and the weight throw (51’00.75”). Stepehen Dickens was eighth in the weight throw with a toss of 45’05”.
Michel Hill also brought home a first place finish, as he cleared 6’08” in the high jump. Eric Davis cleared 6’06” in the high jump for third place, and was eighth in the long jump (20’10.75”).
In the sprints, NC State had three top-10 finishers in the 60 meters. A'Tolani Akinkuotu was second (6.76), Reggie Reese was third (6.85), and Omar Wells was seventh (6.94). In the 400 metes, Wells placed fourth with a time of 49.99, and Armand Quenum ran a 51.97.
The men’s distance runners were in action for the first time this season, running in the 800 meters as a warm-up to next week. Gavin Coombs finished second with his time of 1:55.13, and Stephen Furst was third with a 1:56.28. John Martinez finished seventh in that race as well (1:57.45).
Just like the men’s team, the NC State women’s distance runners ran in some shorter distance races in their first meet of the season. Julia Lucas notched a NCAA provisional time in the mile, as she was first with a time of 4:47.69. Kristina Roth was close behind in second, running a 4:55.24. The Pack had three other top-10 finishers, as Bona Jones was fifth (5:00.69), Magin Kebert was sixth (5:03.24), and Amy Kelly was 10th (5:15.66).
The Pack also had two of the top three runners in the 800 meters, as Jemissa Hess was second (2:13.54) and Angelina Blackmon was third (2:14.36). In the 3,000 meters, Jessie Yester was sixth (10:31.33) and Elena Helmerick was eighth (10:42.82).
Joya Rodgers brought home a third place finish in the 60 meters, running a 7.61 in the finals.
In the field events, NC State had four athletes finish in the top-10 in the pentathlon. Mattie Betheas brought home a first place finish with a total of 3,505 points. Laila Thomas was second (3,240), Christie Black was fifth (3,187), and Kayla Lawson took eighth (2,905).
DeMiracle Washington posted a pair of top-five finishes in the jump. Washington was second in the triple jump with a top leap of 40’02.75”, and was third in the long jump (18’03”).
