University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
NCAA East Preliminary Round
Howard Advances to Eugene On First Day
May 29, 2015 | Track & Field
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Sarah Howard claimed her spot at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships after finishing in the top-12 of the women's shot put on Thursday at the NCAA East Preliminary Championships. Many other individuals from the University of North Carolina track teams advanced to the quarterfinals.
“Although we had some stumble along the way, overall I think it was a fantastic day for us,” head coach Harlis Meaders said. “Some of the kids didn't end up where they wanted to, but the effort was there across the board. This is perhaps one of the toughest competitions in the country. The east prelims with the number of schools we have and the level of competition creates a very tough meet.
“We're excited to have more kids competing tomorrow and putting on the Carolina uniform to represent the University. We're looking forward to having kids advance later into the week and to Eugene.”
Sarah Howard punched her ticket with a throw of 55-3 ¾ (16.86 meters) on her first attempt. The mark held and was good enough to place third overall at the East Preliminary Championships. This is the second time that Howard has qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in her career.
“It's really relieving, especially since it was on my first throw,” Howard said. “I was ranked well coming in, but once you get here it's a clean slate, so anything can happen. It's exciting to be able to go again and I hope some teammates can come with me.
“I think I can do better than I did last year. I've had a much more consistent season and my goal is to make it to the finals in Eugene.”
Kenny Selmon, RJ Alowonle and Javonte Lipsey all qualified for the quarterfinals of the 400-meter hurdles. Selmon won his heat at 50.51 while Lipsey and Alowonle took second in their heats at 50.68 and 51.27, respectively.
Cori Floyd was able to advance to the quarterfinals of the 400-meter hurdles by running 58.60. Floyd had the second fastest non-automatic qualifying time and finished with the 20th fastest time in the prelims.
Ceo Ways automatically qualified for the 400 quarterfinals after taking second in his heat. Ways ran a season-best 46.12 to clinch his spot in the next round.
Lianne Farber cruised in the 1,500 winning her heat in 4:24.28 to automatically advance to the quarterfinals. Karley Rempel also competed in the 1,500 but missed making the quarterfinals.
Ryan Walling competed in the men's 1,500 and led the race with 300 meters left, but was out-kicked by the competition in his heat, the fastest heat of the day, and missed the cut by a few spots running 3:51.08.
Cameron Overstreet competed in the women's pole vault in her last competition as a collegiate athlete. Overstreet finished tied for 17th in the women's pole vault, clearing 13-4 ½ (4.08 meters) on technically sound jumps, but was unable to clear the next progression height. Overstreet leaves UNC with the school record in the indoor pole vault.
O'Neal Wanliss took on the deep field of competition in the men's 800 and wasn't able to reach the quarterfinals with a time of 1:50.57.
AJ Hicks couldn't punch a ticket to Eugene in the men's hammer throw, going up against some of the nation's best throwers.
John Raneri ended his impressive collegiate career tonight in the men's 10,000. Raneri didn't place in the top 12 to advance to Eugene.
The Tar Heels will continue the NCAA East Preliminary Championships tomorrow starting with the men's javelin at noon. A recap of performances and results will be available on Goheels.com following the conclusion of tomorrow's events. For instant updates, follow @UNCTrack_Field on Twitter.
Players Mentioned
