University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Dick Taylor UNC Challenge
North Carolina in Second at Dick Taylor Challenge
January 24, 2014 | Track & Field
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The University of North Carolina is in second place after the first day of the Dick Taylor Challenge. Freshman Emily Godwin had 3,740 points and placed third in the pentathlon. Godwin, of Buckhannon, W.V., is now fourth in North Carolina school history in the pentathlon and seventh in the NCAA this year before the flat-track conversion.
"Going into it I was nervous," Godwin said. "But we all have been training really hard in the fall and the group that I work with is great. I was content with some of the things, but I definitely have a lot of improvement and a lot of work still to do. It's a great feeling to know that your hard work pays off, but I still have to improve on a lot of things."
North Carolina had three other student-athletes in competition Thursday: Paul Haley, Ryan Ramsey, and Lauren Lazor. Haley, a sophomore from Ellicott City, Md., still has two events to compete in tomorrow to finish the heptathlon. Ramsey, of Louisville, Ky., withdrew from the competition after aggravating an injury. Lazor, a junior from Craig, Colo., finished the pentathlon in seventh place with 3,228 points.
North Carolina assistant coach Josh Langley coaches the multi-event athletes and was proud of the four who competed Thursday.
"I'm really excited for the way that Paul [Haley] opened up as well as Ryan [Ramsey]," Langley said. "Ryan is battling a little injury so we were conservative with him this week - keeping in mind the big picture at ACCs. Lauren Lazor came out and surprised me. She put together some good marks. She's ahead of pace from where she was last year so I think that bodes well for her future.
"I think the star of the day was definitely Emily Godwin, a true freshman from West Virginia. She came out and now she ranks fourth all-time in UNC history in the pentathlon. I think it speaks to her raw athleticism. There are still some things that we're working on and still trying to improve in certain areas. She had events that didn't go well and she's still able to crack the top-five all-time list in this event. It should give her a world of confidence moving forward.
"We're excited for the future and all four of the athletes that competed today."
Duke finished the first day of competition in first with 21 team points. North Carolina is in second place with 6 points. In third is Western Carolina with 4 points. Both UNC Wilmington and East Carolina have zero team points. The team with the most points at the end of tomorrow will receive the Carolina Cup.
North Carolina and Duke are competing for the Tobacco Road Cup, a trophy awarded to the team that has the highest combined score of its top two heptathletes and pentathletes. Duke is ahead of North Carolina after day one.
North Carolina head coach Harlis Meaders said: "I'm proud of the way our kids competed today and I'm excited about competing tomorrow. It's going to be a lot of fun competing for the Carolina Cup."
The Dick Taylor Challenge continues tomorrow at 3 p.m. at the Eddie Smith Field House with the conclusion of the men's heptathlon. The field events will begin at 5 p.m. with the men's weight throw. Live results for the Dick Taylor Challenge can be found here. The meet is free to attend and open to the public.
Players Mentioned
