University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
ACC Indoor Championships
Clayton Parros Repeats As ACC 400 Champion On Final Day
February 26, 2011 | Track & Field
Feb. 26, 2011
BLACKSBURG, Va. - Sophomore Clayton Parros claimed the men's 400 meter title to lead the Tar Heels on the final day of the 2011 ACC Indoor Track and Field Championships. Thirteen other Tar Heels claimed All-ACC honors Saturday as the women's team finished third overall and the men's team took sixth. The three-day meet concluded Saturday at Virginia Tech's Rector Field House.
The Tar Heel women finished third, a large improvement from last year's seventh-place finish, with 69 points behind reigning champion Clemson (152 points) and Florida State (100.50), and the men's team took sixth with 67.50 points. Virginia Tech won the men's side with 140 points, becoming the first host team to win the conference title since Maryland did so in 1979.
"I'm really proud of a lot of our athletes, including Ariel Roberts and Clayton Parros, who were our top scorers," head coach Dennis Craddock said. "There were a lot of mistakes made over the three days with the men, and we expected to do better as a team. But our women did better than we expected and made a great improvement from last year. Now we're looking ahead to getting some more athletes to nationals."
The men's 400 was a close race between Parros and Georgia Tech's Antonio McKay, Jr., but McKay was disqualfied for stepping on the inside rail of the track and Parros, the reigning 400 meter ACC indoor champion, took the win once again with a time of 47.14.
Senior Parker Smith, who finished fourth in 2010 and third in 2009, took second this time in the men's pole vault with a career-best height of 17-7. Junior Tasha Stanley ran a strong final lap to claim second in the women's 800 for the second straight year with a season-best time of 2:06.46. That time will move Stanley into the NCAA top-15 in the event.
Senior LaToya James had a great anchor leg in the women's 4x400 team, teaming with senior Christine Johnson and juniors Tasha Stanley and Elizabeth Mott to claim the fourth best time in school history and take second in 3:37.74, just behind Clemson's winning time of 3:37.26. Senior Charles Cox also had an incredible final leg in the men's 4x400, combining with sophomores Jeremy Gerlach, Clayton Parros and Reynaldo Radlin to claim third in 3:14.03.
James also took thrid in the women's 60-meter hurdles in 8.29, competing against a field that featured four athletes ranked in the NCAA top-30. Junior Ashley Verplank finished third in the women's one mile in 4:43.21.
Nine additional Tar Heels added top-eight finishes for Carolina. Senior Austin Davis jumped 50-7 1/2 on his final attempt to take fourth in the men's triple jump, and in the men's 200, Cox and Parros each ran 21.31 to claim fourth and fifth places. In the women's 400, junior Elizabeth Mott took fifth in a season-best 54.08, and junior Zoey Russell took eight in 54.92. Freshman Isaac Presson finished sixth (4:08.80) in the men's mile and returned later this afternoon to grab another sixth-place finish in the 800 (1:51.77).
Senior Kyle Goodman threw a personal-best 56-1 1/4 to take fifth in the men's shot put, and sophomore Chris DiLorenzo finished sixth with a distance of 54-8. Sophomore Chadd Pierce cleared 15-7 1/4 on his first attempt to win the tie and take eighth in the men's pole vault.
In other finals, Briana Hudson took ninth in the women's triple jump (41-0 1/4), as Chrishawn Williams took 11th (39-8 3/4) and freshman Tristine Johnson finished 13th (39-6). Freshman Jacob Hurysz, who took fifth yesterday in the 5,000 meters, finished 10th in the 3,000 (8:12.76) and freshman Patrick Schellberg took 13th (8:14.38). Senior Emory Parsons finished 11th in the men's shot put with a throw of 49-2 3/4.
2011 ACC CHAMPIONS
Patience Coleman - Women's High Jump
Clayton Parros - Men's 400 meters
2011 ALL-ACC TAR HEELS
Women's High Jump
Ariel Roberts - 3rd
Women's Pentathlon
Ariel Roberts - 2nd
Men's Heptathlon
Mateo Sossah - 2nd
Men's' Pole Vault
Parker Smith - 2nd
Chadd Pierce - 8th
Women's 800 meters
Tasha Stanley - 2nd
Men's 800 meters
Isaac Presson - 6th
Women's Mile
Ashley Verplank - 3rd
Men's Mile
Isaac Presson - 6th
Women's 60-meter Hurdles
LaToya James - 3rd
Men's 200 meters
Charles Cox - 4th
Clayton Parros - 5th
Women's Pole Vault
Merritt Van Meter - 3rd
Sandi Morris - 4th
Men's 5,000 meters
Jacob Hurysz - 5th
Men's High Jump
Dylan Moore - 7th (tie)
Women's 400 meters
Elizabeth Mott - 5th
Zoey Russell - 8th
Men's Shot Put
Kyle Goodman - 5th
Chris DiLorenzo - 6th
Players Mentioned
