North Carolina State University Athletics
Going The Distance For NC State
5/25/2011 12:00:00 AM | Track
May 25, 2011
Live Results | NCAA East Region Preliminary
Thursday TV coverage (3:30 p.m.) |Friday TV coverage (4:30 p.m.)
Saturday TV coverage (6 p.m.)
RALEIGH, N.C. – This time last year, NC State junior distance runner Adam Henken didn’t even know three-time Wolfpack All-American Ryan Hill.
At the time, Henken was looking for a new school after deciding to transfer from the University of Kentucky and Hill was just getting ready to participate in the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Now, they are near-constant companions, after spending the last year as training partners for the Wolfpack cross country and track teams.
“Ryan has been a great workout partner for me,” said Henken, a native off Carpathin, Va. “We run together most days of the week. It’s a good confidence booster for me, because he’s one of the best guys in the country.”
And now, so is Henken. He qualified for this weekend’s NCAA Outdoor East Region prelimary meet in Bloomington, Ind., joining a large contingent of other Wolfpack men’s and women’s track and field athletes. He will compete Thursday night in the 10,000-meter run in the final event in the opening day of the three-day event. Live results from the meet are available here and a webcast of each day’s events are available at the above links.
Henken opted to transfer to NC State, though he did not compete in cross country last fall. He used his final season of eligibility in indoor track, helping the Wolfpack to a third-place finish at the ACC Indoor Championship, matching its best finish since 1997.
He made a quick impact, running an important opening leg in the record-setting and ACC champion distance medley relay and finishing fourth in the 3,000-meter run. He also won the 3,000-meter run at Boston University’s Valentine Invitational, in his first race for the Wolfpack.
“The whole decision to transfer was a little nerve-wracking,” Henken said. “But so far it has turned out to be a really good thing for me. Last year was a little rough, but Coach [Rollie] Geiger and [assistant coach Chris] Seaton have both been great helping me transition in.”
The opportunity to run with Hill, a two-time cross country All-American and a one-time outdoor track All-American from Hickory, N.C., and redshirt freshman Andrew Colley of Williamsburg, Va., has also been a big plus for Henken, who set personal records in the indoor 3K and the outdoor 10K.
Hill and Henken ran neck-and-neck at the ACC Outdoor Championships, finishing 1-2 in the 10,000-meter race.
“We’ve been very fortunate to have him transfer in here,” Geiger said. “He’s been a terrific fit. The only thing I am disappointed about is that he only has one season of cross country and one more season of outdoor track for us.
“I would’ve really liked to have him lined up for us for five years.”
Like Hill and Colley, Henken has a competitive drive that Geiger really likes.
“It’s really hard to find the competitive nature those three have,” Geiger said. “You can’t teach it. They have to have it. It’s about not worrying about getting marks or splits. It’s about wanting to win. They all have that drive.”
Among the other competitors at the meet for the Wolfpack are junior discus thrower Brittany Hampton of Monroe, N.C., who recorded the best throw in her event of any ACC thrower. Freshman Erin Mercer and junior Brian Himelright will represent the Wolfpack in the women’s and men’s steeplechase, respectively.
The Wolfpack will also send a strong contingent of jumpers, led by sophomore Karimah Shepherd in the women’s long jump and junior Kwame Boatwright in the men’s triple jump and sophomore Kris Kornegay-Gober in the high jump.
Two of the Pack’s qualified entries, freshman Lillian Greibesland (1,500 meters) and junior Emmanuel Davis (high jump), were scratched from the event for medical reasons.
• By Tim Peeler, tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
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2011 NC State NCAA East Region Preliminary Participants |
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| Men | Cl. | Event | Top mark | East Region rank |
| T.J. Graham | Soph. | 100m | 10.37 | 27th |
| Gregory Dame | Jr. | 1,500m | 3:46.46 | 34th |
| Brian Himelright | Soph. | Steeplechase | 8:52.58 | 16th |
| Ryan Hill | Soph. | 5,000m | 13:31.67* | 1st |
| Andrew Colley | Fr. | 5.000m | 13:44.79 | 3rd |
| Adam Henken | Jr. | 10,000m | 29:41.63 | 15th |
| Kris Kornegay-Gober | Soph. | High jump | 6' 11 3/4" | 24th |
| Lamont Savage | Sr. | Long jump | 24' 7" | 33rd |
| Kwame Boatwright | Jr. | Triple jump | 50' 0 1/2" | 38th |
| Travis Weston | Sr. | Triple jump | 49' 10 1/2" | 41st |
| Nathaniel Williams | Fr. | Discus | 171' 2" | 40th |
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Graham, Savage, |
-- | 4X100 relay | 40.19 | 18th |
| Women | Cl. | Event | Top mark | East Region rank |
| Kenyetta Iyevbele | Fr. | 800m | 2:07.81 | 36th |
| Tiayonna Blackmon | Jr. | 800m | 2:08.12 | 39th |
| Erin Mercer | Fr. | Steeplechase | 10:18.86 | 12th |
| Kara McKenna | Sr. | Steeplechase | 10:36.54 | 44th |
| Andie Cozzarelli | Jr. | 10,000m | 34:13.32 | 14th |
| Danielle Adams | Soph. | High jump | 5' 9 3/4" | 21st |
| Karimah Shepherd | Soph. | Long jump | 20' 4 1/2" | 18th |
| Brittany Hampton | Jr. | Discus | 170' 4" | 16th |
