University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
NCAA Track and Field Championships
Rahn Takes Bronze As UNC Concludes Fantastic Indoor Season
March 15, 2015 | Track & Field
FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. – Xenia Rahn had a lifetime-best performance in the women's pentathlon Saturday night and led the University of North Carolina women's track team to tie for 26th with nine team points at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships. Rahn scored 4,450 points to become the seventh-best performer in the pentathlon in NCAA history, claim the ACC and UNC school records in the event, and earn first-team All-America honors. The men's 4x400 and Lizzy Whelan also earned first-team All-America honors. The women's team's finish is their highest since 2009 when the team tied for 12th.
“It's been an exceptional indoor season for us,” head coach Harlis Meaders said. “For our women's program to finish 26th in the country was a phenomenal improvement for us, especially since we were unable to post points last year. Lizzy finishing sixth and Xenia taking third made for a truly wonderful day. It's the combination of having two exceptional student-athletes and exceptional assistant coaches. Coach Langley, Coach VanAlstyne and Coach Reckart did a fantastic job preparing their athletes for the championship.
“Coach Rubin worked really hard to get the men's 4x400 group back here. It's a group of young men that have struggled, but they were able to grab a qualifying time and make it to the NCAA championships. You have to realize that there are only 12 teams from across the country that earn their way to the championship. It's an honor to be among the top-12, but to be here and be at your best is phenomenal. They finished sixth and I'm really proud of them.
“At one point our kids may have been content with going to nationals, but now we are going to nationals and scoring points. I think that shows the maturity in this team. That's the attitude we're going to take to the outdoor season.”
Rahn began her championship performance with a lifetime best in the 60-meter hurdles. Rahn ran 8.39 to tally 1,041 points and finish sixth among the competition. She continued her superb start with a season-best clearance of 5-9 ¾ (1.77 meters) in the high jump. Rahn's clearance was seventh among the competitors but she held in sixth place after the two events at 1,982 points.
Rahn made a leap from sixth to third in the shot put when she threw 42-7 (12.98 meters). Rahn finished fourth out of all the competitors and earned 726 points with a total of 2,708 points. The pentathletes moved on to the long jump where Rahn came up big on her last jump. Heading into her third attempt she was seventh among the competition, but finished strong on her last jump which went a monstrous 20-5 ¼ (6.23 meters). To put that into perspective, Rahn's jump would have been good enough to score in the women's long jump competition that ended Friday.
Heading into the 800 meter dash, the last event of the pentathlon, Rahn sat in third with 3,629 points, well on her way to her best performance of her career. Rahn's personal best in the 800 was 2:23.51 and she was projected to finish fourth in the pentathlon overall score. Rahn destroyed her previous best in the 800 running 2:20.17 and earning 821 points. It ended up being enough to secure third, beating out fourth place by 20 points. It was the first time that UNC has had a women's individual performer on the podium at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships since Brie Felnagle finished second in the 3,000 in 2008. Rahn's score also ranks 17th in the world this year.
“Finally the events lined up and put the marks together for one meet,” Rahn said. “I had a really good season, putting up good marks, but I finally got all the good marks at one competition. I'm really happy I got third; I didn't really expect that.
“I actually wasn't as nervous for this 800 as I usually am because I had a good meet already and I just had the mindset that whatever happens, I still had a good meet. Coach Langley told me that I had five seconds on the Arkansas girl, so I had to keep within five seconds of her, and I wasn't really running for time at all. I just found a comfortable spot and ran for it. In the last lap she sped up and I was already really tired, but I had to go with her, so I just ran.
“I'm really happy to work with Coach Langley. We've prepared for this all season long, and we're really excited and happy about it. I could not have done it without his help.”
“I was merely a witness today,” Rahn's event coach Josh Langley said. “That was a complete performance by Xenia. Not many times am I surprised or in awe of one of my athletes' performances, but for 5 hours today, she was in complete control and it was fun to be a small part of that today.”
Whelan ran 2:05.61 in the finals of the 800 to earn three points for the women's team. Whelan spent most of her time at the end of the pack, but maneuvered her way into sixth in the last 100 meters. That's the second-best finish by UNC in the women's 800 at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. Only Mia Pollard in 1988 finished higher at fourth.
“If you told me a month ago she would get sixth when she was coming off a hamstring injury and taking medications for a bronchial thing that was going around, I would have jumped at it,” distance coach Mark VanAlstyne said. “I think it's fantastic. Lizzy has high expectations and that's to be commended. We have to note the nature of her sixth-place finish. It was really, really good.
“In the outdoor season I'm looking forward to getting better at every opportunity. We add a bunch of events and I'm just excited to see progress.”
The men's 4x400 relay team finished in sixth at 3:07.05. The squad of Sean Sutton, Ceo Ways, Kenny Selmon and Javonte Lipsey finished second in their heat, which ended up being good enough to earn three points for the men's team that tied for 51st. That time improves their best time this season and keeps them ranked No. 3 all-time in UNC's history.
“It was not a smooth ride this season,” sprints coach Steve Rubin said. “We had some bumps and bruises along the way and I don't think we ever got to put the team out that was completely healthy. But to get back here and run sixth, kind of says how strong they are and what they can do.
“In particular I'm really proud of Javonte Lipsey. He had more things in his personal life that he had to overcome and he had an incredible attitude. His ability to be able to keep working and keep his focus during some difficult time is a testament of the kind of competitor he is. He really was the solid block we needed him to be and we wouldn't have been here without him.
“We're looking forward to a lot of things outdoors. I think he have the best 400-hurdler squad in the country and we get our 110 hurdlers back. Our 4x400 team will have more depth and we can withstand more bumps in the road.
Arkansas took the women's team title with 63 points. Oregon trailed in second with 46.5 points while Georgia took third with 37 points. Florida was only one point behind Georgia for fourth and Kentucky finished one point behind Florida for fifth.
On the men's side, it was Oregon who took home the team championship with 74 points while Florida took second with 50. Florida finished in third with 39 while Texas A&M finished fourth with 33. To round out the top-5 Texas Tech finished with 31.
UP NEXT
The Tar Heels will have no break in the action as they compete at home next weekend at the Dennis Craddock Carolina Relays, starting on March 20. The outdoor season begins on Friday and the Tar Heels will have multiple faces making their 2015 debut. Goheels.com will have a complete preview of the meet and the outdoor season later in week.
“I think we are a better outdoor team than we are an indoor team,” Coach Meaders said, looking toward the outdoor season. We add the 400-meter hurdles, the steeplechase, some distance events and the long throws. We will continue our pursuit of an ACC Championship and our march up the rankings. We feel like we should be a championship level team. I'm confident in our squads and I'm more confident in my assistant coaches that they will have their athletes ready to go."
Players Mentioned
