University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
ACC Outdoor Track and Field Championships
Story Earns All-ACC Honors For Taking 3rd In The Hammer
May 14, 2016 | Track & Field
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The University of North Carolina track and field teams completed the first day of the ACC Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Friday. The day mostly comprised of preliminary heats with a few scored events in which the Tar Heels scored.
“It was a very good day for the lady Tar Heels” head coach Harlis Meaders said. “Avana Story finished third and was close to her PR. She was the spark for the competition to get us rolling. Caroline Alcorta took first in her heat in a gutsy race and pulled it our down the stretch. All you needed was to win your heat and she did that to qualify for the final. Mattie Webb finished a great season for us. Tory Kemp had a day of 'almosts'. She had a lot of almost PRs in the events of the heptathlon. It doesn't take a monumental performance to win, if she does pretty good over the course of two days, which she has the first day, she'll score valuable points for us. Our lady sprinters ran well in the 200 but were unable to qualify. Looking forward to the horizontal jumps and looking to get back into the competition tomorrow.
“Stephen Mulherin was the highlight of the evening for the men. It was a man's race going against some of the top performers in the country. He ran a smart race and scored vital points for the team. It was his best finish at a conference meet and we're very proud of his performance tonight. I'm also very proud of Paul Haley who put together his best day one performance in the multis. Paul had great performances in each of his events. Ceo Ways advanced in the 200. Kenny Selmon and Javonte Lipsey advanced in the 400-meter hurdles and we needed them to advance. Austin Vegas was off and didn't advance, but he's made great contributions for the team throughout his career. AJ Hicks fell short of what we thought he was capable of doing in the hammer today but he's got more chances to score points for the team later.
“Like most track meets you'll have some kids at their absolute best and some who fall short of what we expect. You may have some great performances but it's the strength of the team that matters most. We positioned ourselves well we have to stay focused. Our team is competing hard and their up for the challenge.”
Avana Story earned All-ACC honors for placing third in the women's hammer. Story threw 196-11 (60.03 meters) to earn the conference honor. Alex Cooke placed 11th and Sam Miller took 16th.
Stephen Mulherin took fourth in the men's 10,000 going up against some of the stiffest competition in the NCAA. Mulherin pulled off a great race taking fourth and earning valuable points for the men's team. Mulherin timed in at 30:03.56.
Amanda Benninghoff finished fifth for the Tar Heels in the women's pole vault with a season best clearance of 13-3 ¾ (4.06 meters). Caroline Brailsford and Anna Eaton tied for eighth.
AJ Hicks didn't have his greatest performance in the hammer, but he was still able to score a point for the team taking eighth with a best throw of 202-3 (61.66 meters).
Beyond Tar Heels who scored, Paul Haley had an impressive first day in the decathlon scoring 3,913 points with personal bests in the long jump and shot put. Haley leads the rest of the field by more than 140 points. Nick Futia has 3,184 points and is in 12th.
In the heptathlon, Tory Kemp has 3,057 points and is in seventh place.
Qualifying for finals in their respective events were Ceo Ways (200m), Javonte Lipsey (400mH), Kenny Selmon (400mH) and Caroline Alcorta (1,500m).
The second day of competition will start tomorrow at 10 a.m. with the women's javelin. Live results can be found on Flashresults.com and a live stream can be found on ESPN3 starting at 6 p.m.
Players Mentioned
