University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
ACC Indoor Championships
Henning Opens ACC Championships With A Win
February 28, 2008 | Track & Field
Feb. 28, 2008
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Freshman Walter Henning picked up his first automatic qualifying mark of the year on the first day of the ACC Indoor Championships as he threw the weight 71-00.75 for the win. Henning set a personal-best with the toss and automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships in two weeks. Carolina sits in third on the women's side with nine points after two events, while Henning's 10 points put the men in second after one event. Action will resume at noon on Friday in the Eddie Smith Field House.
Jocelyn White and Norjai Palma got the day started for the Tar Heels as the duo competed in the women's weight throw. White finished in ninth place with a throw of 55-03.50 and Palma recorded a toss of 46-03.50 for a 17th place finish.
A pair of Tar Heels competed in the pentathlon and picked up nine points for Carolina. Alexandra Coppadge placed third in the event with 3,771 points and earned herself a provisional mark. Gabby Gioia fell just short of the provisional mark en route to finishing in sixth place with 3,483 points.
Coppadge opened the day with a sixth-place finish in the 55-meter hurdles and then recorded a second-place showing in the high jump as she cleared 5-5 for 795 points. Coppadge would go on to finish fifth in the shot put, long jump and 800 meter to earn All-ACC honors with her third place showing.
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Gioia placed 10th in the 55-meter hurdles, tied for ninth in the high jump and finished 11th in the shot put before battling her way back into the top six. Gioia finished fifth in the long jump as she recorded a mark of 17-9 on her second jump and closed the day with an impressive finish in the 800. Gioia and Coppadge were in the middle of the pack for the majority of the race before Gioia finished the final 100 meters in a flurry for a third place showing in the event.
The three points that Gioia picked up in the pentathlon, along with Coppadge's six pushed Carolina into third in the team standings behind Virginia Tech (20) and Boston College (18).
The real story of the day was freshman sensation Walter Henning. The King's Park, N.Y. native advanced as one of the nine finalists as he recorded a throw just over 70 feet in the opening round of the weight throw. Henning would just improve upon that mark en route to claiming his first ACC title along with an automatic qualifying mark. On his second throw of the final round Henning tallied a personal-best as he reached 71-00.75. Henning's 10 points put Carolina in second place on the men's side behind Clemson who tallied 11 points in the weight throw with a third and fourth place finish.
Ian Reynolds finished 12th in the weight throw with a mark of 35-02.50. In heptathlon action, Carolina has a chance for three scorers as Mateo Sossah currently sits in second while Daniel Keller and Matthew Villemain are in fifth and seventh place, respectively.
Action will resume at noon on Friday in the Eddie Smith Field House with the long jump.
Women's Scores
Place School Points
1. Virginia Tech 20 2. Boston College 18 3. North Carolina 9 4. Miami 8 4. Maryland 8 6. Georgia Tech 7 7. Wake Forest 5 8. Clemson 2 9. Virginia 1Men's Scores
Place School Points
1. Clemson 11 2. North Carolina 10 3. Florida State 8 4. NC State 5 5. Maryland 3 6. Georgia Tech 2
Players Mentioned
