NC State Set for Virginia Challenge

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RALEIGH, N.C. - The NC State track and field team is sending 70 entries between individuals and relay teams to Charlottesville, Va., for the Virginia Challenge Friday and Saturday. The meet features 1,273 athletes from 63 colleges and universities.

Wolfpack Entries:
NC State will have its full squad in competition and have several athletes making season and event debuts.

Two-sport athlete Nyheim Hines will return to the track to begin his outdoor season. Hines had a strong indoor season, garnering All-ACC honors in the 60m dash. On his debut, he will run in the 100m dash and a leg of the 4x100 relay team.

Rachel Koon will make her outdoor debut in the 5,000m. Koon is coming off a solid start to her track career where she finished with top-15 ACC Championship times in both the 3,000m and 5,000m.

The men's distance squad will have a large group in competition. After making his 10k debut at Raleigh Relays, Sam Parsons will continue his season with a 5,000m race this weekend. Luis Vargas and Meron Simon will run the 1,500m, and Bakri Abushouk will compete in the steeplechase.

Virginia Challenge:
The meet will have strong NCAA Division 1 competition, as well as several top professional athletes. Last year's meet had 33 marks rank among the top-25 in final events standings with a majority of the marks coming from mid-distance events. This year's 1,500m and steeplechase fields are also loaded with talent – including NC State's top mid-distance runners.

Last Time Out:
At last weekend's Charlotte Invitational, Megan Moye broke the program record in the 1,500m and set a pair of top-25 national marks in the 800 and 1,500m races. Vargas earned an ACC and regional mark in the 10,000m and several Wolfpackers posted event wins.

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Players Mentioned

Bakri Abushouk

Nyheim Hines

Rachel Koon

Megan Moye

Sam Parsons

Meron Simon

Luis Vargas