North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
NCAA Regional Championships
Hill, Colley Advance to NCAA Finals
5/28/2011 12:00:00 AM | Track
May 28, 2011
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - NC State distance runners Ryan Hill and Andrew Colley will join three of their teammates at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which begin in two weeks in Des Moines, Iowa.
Hill, a sophomore All-America from Hickory, N.C., won his section of the 5,000-meter race at Saturday night's NCAA East Region Preliminary on Indiana's Haugh Track and Field Complex with a time of 14:06.99, while Colley, a redshirt freshman from Williamsburg, Va., finished seventh in his section with a time of 14:08.43.
They both finished in the top 12 overall, earning the right to advance to the national finals on June 8-11.
"Ryan was really on top of his game tonight in a race that had kind of a slow pace," said NC State head coach Rollie Geiger. "He is really good at finishing a race off, and he proved that tonight."
Hill, a two-time All-American in cross country who earned All-America track honors in the 5,000 meters last year as a freshman, ran the final 800 meters in two minutes flat to win the first section, in which the top five finishers were guaranteed a trip to the finals. Colley was seventh in his section, which turned out to be the faster of the two races. But, even though he wasn't in the top five, he had one of the two fastest remaining times from the two races to earn his first trip to the finals.
"I was just really proud of the way they ran tonight," Geiger said.
Hill and Colley will join sophomore Andie Cozzarelli (women's 10,000 meters), freshman Kenyetta Iyevbele (women's 800-meter run) and sophomore T.J. Graham (men's 100-meter dash), who advanced earlier in the meet.
The Wolfpack had two other entries on Saturday's final day of competition that just missed qualifying.
Junior Brittany Hampton of Monroe, N.C., missed earning the 12th and final spot in the women's discus throw because of a tiebreaker. She and Akron's Valerie Bert both had best throws of 166-feet, 9-inches to tie for 12th place. The rules require the outcome be determined on both throwers' second best attempt, and Wert edged Hampton by about two feet on the tiebreaker.
The men's 4X100 relay team had a good opportunity to advance since seven of the 24 teams competing for the top 12 spots were disqualified in the two heats. But the Wolfpack ended up being one of the disqualified teams, for being out of its lane during the race.
"We had more little things like that go wrong for us this whole week while we were here," Geiger said. "We're really excited for the kids who will advance and disappointed for those who just missed out on the chance."
Freshman Nathaniel Williams of Newport, N.C., also competed in the men's discus on Saturday's final round of competition. He finished 23rd overall with a throw of 168-feet, 2-inches.
