University of North Carolina Athletics
Whelan Receives ACC Performer of the Week Co-Honor
February 4, 2014 | Track & Field
GREENSBORO, N.C., - North Carolina sophomore Lizzy Whelan was recognized as the Atlantic Coast Conference Women's Track and Field Performer of the Week, as announced Tuesday by the conference. Whelan shared the honor with Duke's Megan Clark. Brycen Spratling from Pittsburgh took the men's honor.
Whelan put up a No. 6 national ranking with her 800 meter time of 2:07.03 (2:05.59 converted) in the Elite Camel City Races division of the Hilton Garden Invitational. The Toronto, Ontario native was the top collegiate finisher and placed just 0.46 seconds off her personal best time in the event, which showcased some of the top distance runners in the nation.
"I'm really excited to have been selected for ACC Performer of the Week," Whelan said. "I'm humbled to receive this honor when my teammates are just as deserving of the award."
Duke's Clark posted one of the top heights in the country in the pole vault on Saturday after clearing 14.00 (4.27) for first place at the Hilton Garden Invitational in Winston-Salem, N.C. The Fort Benning, Ga., native has steadily improved throughout the season, opening 2014 with a clearance of 13-3.50 (4.05) at the Virginia Tech Invitational, before returning to competition one week later and recording a mark of 13-9.25 (4.20) at the Tar Heel Open. Clark's most recent effort ranks her first on Duke's all-time list, surpassing former Olympian Jillian Schwartz.
Spratling ended the weekend ranked among the NCAA top 10 in two events - one individual and one relay - after a pair of solid showings in the Penn State National Invitational. Spratling anchored the Pitt 4x400 first-place relay team that set a school record time of 3:06.98 and ranks sixth nationally. The Webster, N.Y., native also ranks seventh nationally in the 400 after his first-place, ACC Championship-qualifying time of 46.32.
