North Carolina
ACC Indoor Championships
Sossah, Nall Take Two Titles On Day Two Of ACCs
February 26, 2010 | Track & Field
Feb. 26, 2010
BLACKSBURG, VA. -
The University of North Carolina men's and women's track and field programs competed the second day of competition at the ACC Indoor Championships on Friday, a day which saw two Tar Heels earn gold in the men's heptathlon and the men's high jump, as well as 12 advances into the finals.
The day opened with the completion of the heptathlon and Carolina's first gold of the conference championships. After not having his dream performance on Thursday, Mateo Sossah came into the day knowing exactly what he had to do to make the top of the medal platform - ideally, PR in everything.
Although Sossah did not earn personal bests in every event on Friday, he did break the school record for the heptathlon, which was set by Daniel Keller in 2009, with a final score of 5,779 as well as becoming the first Tar Heel to win the heptathlon since Rob Bates in 2005. With a blazing 8.11 in the 60 hurdles, a decent height of 15-1 in the pole vault and a six-second lead to win the 1000, Sossah made the heptathlon's top-four, who had been separated by a mere 23 points coming into the final three events, work to catch him - and he proved too much while managing to score the Carolina's men's squad 10 points for the day. Sossah also recieved an automatic qualifying mark for his performance.
Fellow multi Matthew Villemain earned his highest placement in the heptathlon at a conference championship, finishing in sixth place to earn Carolina three points. Villemain scored 4,904, missing his personal record by less than 100 points. However, Villemain did earn a personal high in the 1000, running 2:39.77. Chadd Pierce finished his first heptathlon as a Tar Heel with 4,661 points and missed scoring position by one place.
Sossah had to break from the heptathlon for a bit to compete in the long jump alongside Edward Baldwin III. In one leap, Sossah earned seventh place reaching a length of 23-4, just a half-inch shorter than what he reached in the heptathlon on Thursday. Baldwin scored for Carolina with his sixth-place finish at a length of 23-7 1/2.
Carolina's second All-ACC first-place honors came from Donte Nall, who had the crowd behind him in his pursuit over seven feet in the high jump. Nall attempted his PR of 7-2, but settled for 7-1 giving him his second championship nod in the high jump since becoming a Tar Heel. That height also gives him a NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the high jump. Nall first won the conference title as a sophomore in 2008.
Travis Leonard and Villemain joined Nall in the high jump. Leonard reached 6-6 1/4 to tie for seventh and score, while Villemain reached 6-4 1/4.
Reynaldo Radlin missed the finals for the 60-meter hurdles in his first conference championship appearance. Radlin clocked 8.34 in the event. In the 60 dash, Hunter Furr missed advancing to the finals by an astonishing two-thousandths of a second. Kelvin Hardesty (6.88) and Zach Brown (6.89) also ran the 60 dash but did not advance.
The men's 400 saw five Tar Heels compete and three advancements into Saturday's final. Charles Cox was up first, winning his heat in 47.21 for a personal best so far this season. Cox's time leads the field for the event final. Clayton Parros, a freshman who already owns a NCAA automatic mark in the 400, took his heat in 47.84. Rick Goettel and Curtis Campbell shared a heat and were unable to advance to the finals. Goettel ran in 49.44 and Campbell in 51.36. Ian Williamson advanced after winning his heat in a new personal record of 48.22.
Parros earned his second finalist honor in the 200 where he ran in 21.34 to set a personal record. Cox also earned his second finalist honor in the 200, running a season best 21.61. Campbell and Furr also earned season bests for their respective times of 22.80 and 22.01. Hardesty also ran the 200, clocking 22.17.
In the men's mile, Logan Rosenberg, Adam Cunningham and Kyle Milks advanced to the finals. Rosenberg took second in his heat with a time of 4:15.14 to automatically enter while Milks earned his spot in the final based on his time reaching the top-four of non-automatics. Cunningham, in an exhilarating burst of energy and speed in the last curve of the race, pulled up from fourth in the pack to the lead spot to win his heat in 4:06.60. In what is his second best performance of the season in the event, Cunningham earned the fastest time of all the milers, running over a second faster than the rest of the field.
In the men's 800, Rosenberg earned his second finalist honors with his time of 1:52.33. Alex Cremer and Andrew Rotz also competed in the 800, running 1:53.53 and 1:55.07, respectively, with neither advancing. Adam Smith was scheduled to run but did not start.
Zack Dawson and Evan Watchempino put in a good effort in the 5000 meters, with Dawson running in 14:53.01 and Watchempino in 15:00.28. Watchempino and Dawson were honored along with Cunningham on Friday morning by the ACC for their selection to the 2009 Cross Country All-Academic team.
The defending ACC Champion distance medley relay settled for fourth in 2010, still giving Carolina five points towards the team finish. Milks ran the 1200-leg, Goettel the 400-leg, Rotz the 800-leg and Cunningham finishing up with the 1600 to total a season best time of 9:54.87.
In women's competition, Carolina first saw action in the 60-meter hurdles. Vanneisha Ivy advanced to the finals with 8.30, her second fastest time of the season in the event. That time also marked her fifth time of hitting an NCAA provisional qualifying mark this season. LaToya James and Danielle Brock also competed in the 60-hurdles, but their times of 8.55 and 8.92, respectively, were not enough to make it into the finals.
Zoey Russell opened the gate for the Heels in the women's 400 in what became a disappointing outing for Carolina as far as scoring is concerned. Although Russell earned a new personal best in the 400 and took second in her heat with a time of 55.67, she and teammates Christine Johnson and Elizabeth Mott did not advance to the finals. Johnson ran in 55.89 and Mott in 56.28.
Ivy, Malai Walker and Mott all earned season best times in the 200, but none of them or teammate Russell advanced to the finals in the event. Ivy led the Tar Heels at 24.45, followed by Walker at 24.58, Mott at 24.97 and Russell at 25.11.
The 60 saw two personal records set for Carolina, but no finalists. Tyler Ford ran her fastest 60 of her career at 7.51 and broke into the fifth spot for the UNC school record for the event. Walker also earned a personal record of 7.59 in the 60 meters. Jacinda Evans competed in the event as well, clocking in at 7.75.
Dominique Jackson and Tasha Stanley earned their ticket to the finals in the 800, each earning their fastest times of the season to do so. Jackson leads the finalists with her time of 2:09.53. Stanley ran in 2:10.69. Callie Pottinger (season best of 2:13.61), Marisa Dobbins (season best of 2:17.13) and Lea Anna Godwin (2:18.02) also competed in the 800.
Lauren Holesh just missed an opportunity to score for Carolina in the 5000. She crossed the line at 17:03.19, barely one-and-a-half seconds behind the scoring eighth-place. For the women's DMR, Dobbins lead off in the 1200 followed by Russell in the 400-leg of the race in an all-out sprint to try and catch the pack after falling behind early on. Pottinger took on the 800-leg and Godwin closed out in the 1600-leg, but the gap was too great leaving the DMR relay to finish in 12:38.10.
Tyler Ford scored one point for her eighth place finish in the long jump, reaching 19-7. Chrishawn Williams was next for the Tar Heels reaching a season best 19-4. Multis Ariel Roberts, Danielle Brock and Gabby Gioia also competed in the long jump reaching, in order, 17-7, 17-6 1/4 and 16-3 3/4. Jacinda Evans also competed but fouled.
Abby Kimball represented the Carolina women's team in the pole vault, reaching a height of 11-9 3/4. Amanda Nappi was the lone Tar Heel to compete in the 20-lb. weight throw. Nappi threw a length of 42-11 for her first this season.
The men's team is currently in second place with 34.5 points. They are .5 points behind No. 15 Virginia Tech and ahead of No. 13 Florida State by the same margin. The women's team currently has seven points and is in 12th place, but the women have a chance to come back some in Saturday's competition.
The ACC Indoor Championships conclude on Saturday with the first events beginning at 10 a.m. with the women's high jump. Live video stream provided by the ACC will be available from 12 p.m. until the end of the meet.
ALL-ACC TAR HEELS - After Day Two
Mateo Sossah, Heptathlon - 1st
Donte Nall, High Jump - 1st
CAROLINA'S FINALISTS
Men's 200
Clayton Parros
Charles Cox
Men's 400
Charles Cox
Clayton Parros
Ian Williamson
Men's 800
Logan Rosenberg
Men's Mile
Adam Cunningham
Logan Rosenberg
Kyle Milks
Women's 800
Dominique Jackson
Tasha Stanley
Women's 60-Hurdles
Vanneisha Ivy
COMBINED EVENT PERFORMANCES
Men's Heptathlon
Mateo Sossah
Total Points - 5,779* UNC's new school record
60 - 7.27
Long Jump - 23-4 1/2
Shot Put - 45-5 1/4
High Jump - 6-4
60-Hurdles - 8.11
Pole Vault - 15-1
1000 - 2:33.69
Matthew Villemain
Total Points - 4,904
60 - 7.48
Long Jump - 20-9 1/4
Shot Put - 33-2 1/2
High Jump - 6-5
60-Hurdles - 8.76
Pole Vault - 12-9 1/2
1000 - 2:39.77
Chadd Pierce
Total Points - 4,661
60 - 7.82
Long Jump - 19-7 1/2
Shot Put - 29-8
High Jump - 6-1 1/2
60-Hurdles - 8.85
Pole Vault - 15-9
1000 - 2:54.15
Players Mentioned
