University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Hilton Garden Invite/Camel City Elite
Tar Heels Make A Mark At The Hilton Garden Invite
January 30, 2016 | Track & Field
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The University of North Carolina track and field teams held their own Saturday while competing against professionals and other collegiate athletes on the second day of the Hilton Garden Invite held at the JDL Fastrack in Winston-Salem.
"It was exciting to get back on the track after not competing at Virginia Tech last week, head coach Harlis Meaders said. "Katlin Sherman winning on basically her home track, because she's from that area, in front of family and friends was great for her. Natisha Dixon continues to impress us every week and she performed well against tough competition. The women's quarter mile continues to improve and we'll see them with faster times down the road.
"It was the first time we put our DMR teams on the track this year and it was a good early season performance from both our teams. We'll see those times improve as the season goes on.
"Overall it was a good performance by our teams for the entire weekend. The competition will continue to get stiffer as we head to Blacksburg next week with a much larger contingent of Tar Heels."
For many of the Tar Heels, the Invite proved a great chance to open their seasons and get their first races under their belts so they can be more prepared for upcoming races.
Freshman Katlin Sherman was able to pick up first place in the women's 200. Sherman ran 24.60 in the second heat to capture first in the event. Cierra Dunston ran 25.74 to take 11th overall.
The women's 4x400 relay finished fourth in the event with a time of 3:54.61. Dunston, Jewel Christian, Sherman and Natisha Dixon were the four members of the relay team.
Sherman just missed qualifying for the women's 60-yard dash final at 7.72 finishing ninth by only 0.05 seconds.
Dixon also barely missed reaching the final in the women's 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.55. She finished 12th in the event
Both the men's and women's teams fielded a DMR squad. The women's team of Stella Radford, Blake Dodge, Morgan Ilse and Josette Norris took second while the men's team of Carl Geiger, Daniel Belk, Cory Nicholls and Joe Sansone finished third.
The Camel City Elite Races, a major draw of the Hilton Garden Invite, provide a great opportunity for collegiate runners to face some of the best in the professional running business. Mark Derrick competed against the pros in the men's 3,000 placing eighth. Lizzy Whelan opened up her season against the professionals in the women's 800.
UP NEXT
The Tar Heels will prepare for their next meet when they travel to Blacksburg, Va. for the Virginia Tech Doc Hale Invite. The teams will hope to reach the qualifying times for the ACC Indoor Championships that are held at the end of February as well as taking advantage of the banked track by setting NCAA qualifying times.
Players Mentioned
