NC State Continues Impressive Showing at #ACCOTF

Saturday, May 14

Tallahassee, Fla.

All Day

NC State

ACC Outdoor Championships

NC State Continues Impressive Showing at #ACCOTF

5/14/2016 10:10:00 PM | Track

Live Results

TALLAHASSEE Fla. - The NC State track and field team continued its impressive showing at the ACC Championships, advancing six more athletes to the finals and scoring six more athletes during the second day of competition.

After two days, the Wolfpack men sit in fourth place with 37 points and the women are on the board with nine points for 13th place.

NC State jumpers earned 24 points, three medals and four All-ACC selections during the day, and one athlete from the throwing and distance squad each score for the Pack.

Throws:
Alyssa Dunn put the women's team on the board, scoring three points with a sixth-place finish in the shot put. It's the first All-ACC honor of her career and marks her first time scoring points at the ACC Championships. Dunn finished with a mark of 49'0.25", which is a PR by almost two feet.

Jumps:
Addison opened the meet for the jumpers and added another medal to his extensive collection of ACC awards, taking home silver in the long jump. Addison jumped 25'7.24" to finish second and score eight points for the men's team. The Raleigh, N.C., native is a two-time ACC Champion in the the long jump and a three-time silver medalist in the event.

Addison enters the long jump finals in 2nd place after this prelims jump pic.twitter.com/LXnJhUOK0s
— Pack Track & Field (@Wolfpack_TF) May 14, 2016

In the women's event, Alexis Perry earned her fifth conference medal, finishing third with a leap of 21'3.25". It marked her second time this season jumping over 21'. Perry's finish earned six points for the women's team and was her 11^th All-ACC honor.

In the high jump, both Addison and Christopher Garrick scored for the Pack. Garrick finished third overall with a mark of 7'0.25" to claim bronze, marking the first time on the medal stand for the true freshman. It was also his second time this season clearing the 7' in the event this season. Garrick finished fifth in the high jump at the indoor conference championships.

Addison added another All-ACC honor and four more points for the men's team, clearing the bar at 6'11.00" for fifth place.

Multis:
Grant Rivers completed the men's decathlon, finishing ninth with a personal best 6,444 points. Rivers had several strong events during the day. He took took sixth in the 110m hurdles in 15.47 and fourth in the discus with a throw of 120'11". The Hendersonville, N.C. native finished just shy of his personal best in the pole vault and had a huge personal best in the javelin with a throw of 153'1".

Rivers' score is a 226-point improvement on his personal best and his finish is a two-spot improvement after the first half of the event on Friday. The score is also a big improvement from his 2015 finish in the event. Last year, Rivers finished 13^th in the event with 5,342 points – marking a 1,102 point improvement in a year.

Grant Rivers broke a pole during the pole vault, but still managed to PR in the decathlon with a ninth-place finish! pic.twitter.com/NyQEIEJSF6
— Pack Track & Field (@Wolfpack_TF) May 14, 2016

Hurdles/Sprints
NC State's sprinters and hurdlers had an impressive day at the meet, as seven athletes advanced to the finals, including six from the 100m dash.

Perry opened the track events with the 100m hurdles and thundered down the track in the opening heat, crossing the finish line with a PR of 13.02. The mark shaves .12 off her previous personal best and is just .02 from a USATF Olympic Trials Qualifying mark. Perry will race in the finals at 5:40 p.m. Sunday.

In the men's 110m hurdles, Josh Gandy finished just off his PR in 14.61 and Dorian Williams earned a personal best of 14.66. The duo finished 13^th and 14^th, respectively.

In the 100m dash, Gabriele Cunningham added a .10 PR of 11.64 to win the heat and advance automatically. Paisley Simmons finished right behind Cunningham for second in the heat with a time of 11.70. Simmons finished 7th overall to advance on time.

Gabbi Cunningham and Paisley Simmons go 1-2 in their 100m dash heat and both are heading to the finals! pic.twitter.com/fTFo91ewyZ
— Pack Track & Field (@Wolfpack_TF) May 14, 2016

In the men's race, the Pack will have four of the eight sprinters in the 100m dash final. Quashawn Cunningham and Addison picked up heat wins, while Shannon Patterson and Nyheim Hines advanced on time.

Just after his long jump silver medal, Addison posted a 10.51 for the win, and Patterson came in closely behind in 10.54 in the opening 100m dash heat.

Here's Addison and Patterson going 1-2 in their heat to advance. pic.twitter.com/Db493wxaDG
— Pack Track & Field (@Wolfpack_TF) May 14, 2016

in the final heat, Cunningham ran a 10.45 for the win and Hines advanced with a 10.55.

Cunningham added an event win, and Hines qualified on time in the final 100m prelim heat. pic.twitter.com/fYGBD1g4Af
— Pack Track & Field (@Wolfpack_TF) May 14, 2016

The group is guaranteed at least 10 points from Sunday's final. They are slated for a 6:30 p.m. start.

Distance:
In the final event of the night, Meron Simon added another medal and six points for the Wolfpack, finishing third in the steeplechase with a regional qualifying mark of 8:39.26. Simon jumped out to fourth place early in the race, before moving to third and holding that position the rest of the way.

Meron on the podium! pic.twitter.com/oX3X7UsMEi
— Pack Track & Field (@Wolfpack_TF) May 15, 2016

His mark is a 20 second improvement from his previous steeplechase time this season and moves him to eighth in the nation and fifth in the region. The time is also good for the fifth-best mark in school history. Simon now holds marks for the NCAA East Preliminary in the 1,500m, 5,000m and steeplechase.