University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
ACC Outdoor Track and Field Championships
Tar Heels Display Determination At ACCs
May 15, 2016 | Track & Field
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The University of North Carolina track and field programs finished the second day of the ACC Outdoor Track and Field Championships with both teams scoring points on the day. The effort and displayed by North Carolina was unmatched on the second day of competition.
“On the women's side Tory Kemp finished day two of the multi and was able to add valuable points to the team total,” head coach Harlis Meaders said. “I was delighted to see Lizzy Whelan in her senior campaign advance to the finals of the 800m championship.
“Freshman Joey Souza demonstrated the ability we knew he possessed jumping nearly 25' feet in the long jump finishing in sixth place. He is going to be a big part of our team's future.
“On the track Selmon, Ways and Lipsey lead the team all advancing to the finals tomorrow.
“On the men's side O'Neal Wanliss had a dramatic finish to his 800m semi and advanced to the final by winning his heat. His determination was a great way to prepare our men's team for the final day of competition.”
Joey Souza finished sixth in the long jump going a distance of 24-11 ¾ (7.61 meters). The freshman's mark is a collegiate best for him.
Tory Kemp took sixth in the women's heptathlon scoring 5,068 points. Kemp has been a solid point on the women's team in the multis, scoring for the team consistently over the course of her career.
Paul Haley ended up taking eighth in the men's decathlon. Haley fell in the hurdles, typically an event Haley excels in, which dropped him down the rankings. Haley was resilient and finished the race, as well as the remaining four events to finish the decathlon in eighth with 6,444 points.
“Paul Haley entered day two of the multi leading the competition and unfortunately fell in the hurdles,” said Meaders. “He got up and finished the race but moved near the bottom of the competition. For the rest of he day he demonstrated what it means to be a Tar Heel. He stayed the course and worked his way back into scoring position. After ending the competition in a tie for eighth place the judges went to the rarely used tie breaking system for the multi events. Tallying which athlete had the better finish versus each other in the 10 events. Paul was awarded the victory over the the other competitor.”
O'Neal Wanliss narrowly edged his competition in the 800 going the distance with his competitors. The difference between Wanliss' time and the fourth place finisher in his heat was 0.61 seconds, but Wanliss will be the only one to advance to the finals. The fifth-year senior's performance guarantees him another shot to score points for the team in his final conference meet.
Ceo Ways and Javonte Lipsey qualified for the finals of the 400. Ways ran 46.38 while Lipsey ran 46.62 to qualify.
Lizzy Whelan qualified for the finals of the women's 800 going 2:07.07 in her heat. Her time ranked fourth overall and was the fastest non automatic qualifying time.
Kenny Selmon qualified for finals of 110-meter hurdles running 14.09, the third fastest time of the prelims.
AJ Hicks finished just outside of scoring in the men's shot put. The senior finished ninth in the shot at 55-11 (17.04 meters).
Tainasha Vines and Alexis Gannon finished 11th and 13th in the long jump, respectively.
Cierra Dunston finished 12th in the 400 prelims.
“Although things have not been perfect we have positioned over selves well going into the final day,” said Meaders.
The final day of the ACC track and field championships will conclude tomorrow.
Players Mentioned
