North Carolina
Duke Invitational
Daniel McArthur Sets Lifetime Best in the Shot Put at Duke
April 23, 2017 | Track & Field
DURHAM, N.C. – After two days of stiff competition, the University of North Carolina track and field teams concluded the Duke Invitational on Saturday evening. A number of UNC athletes recorded season and personal best times over the course of the two days of competition.
“We were excited to see some of our freshmen get more experience at Duke,” said UNC head coach Harlis Meaders. “We had some young athletes who improved upon their collegiate PRs this weekend.”
Daniel McArthur had a lifetime best performance in the shot put at Morris Williams Track & Field Stadium on Saturday, posting a mark of 61' 4” (18.69m) to win by almost a meter. This is the second best outdoor throw in UNC program history behind Olympian Vikas Gowda (64' 4 ½”) and is currently ranked third in the ACC.
McArthur also set a new personal record in the discus throw on Saturday with a best mark of 168' 1” (51.23m) to take fifth place.
“Daniel McArthur was the highlight of the meet with his lifetime best in the shot put. He had a fantastic day. We knew that big throws were coming for him. It's the perfect time of the season for him to be performing so well,” said Meaders.
Jared Martin also had a lifetime best performance at Duke for the Tar Heels, as he had a mark of 180' 10” (55.13) to place 10th. This mark was a PR of more than five meters, which Martin set in his collegiate debut at the Dennis Craddock Carolina Relays in March. He is currently ranked No. 12 in the ACC with one weekend of competition remaining prior to the ACC Outdoor Championships.
“I'm really happy with the progress that he has made in such a short time that he has been competing in the javelin,” said Meaders.
Katlin Sherman notched a season-best time of 23.85 in the 200m on Saturday to win the event. Sherman's time is tied for 12th place in the ACC and is just 0.25 seconds off of her lifetime best.
“It was a very good competitive effort by Katlin to get the win among a good field of competitors. It builds her confidence headed into the championship part of the season,” said Meaders.
Both athletes who competed in the women's triple jump performed at a high level, placing within the Top 10. Janice Ezenwa had a best jump of 37' 10 ½” (11.54m) to finish in fifth place, while Brianna Duncan placed ninth with a mark of 37' 5” (11.40m).
Ezenwa also participated in the long jump on Friday afternoon, notching a seasonal best of 18' 4 ½” (5.60m) to place 12th. In addition, Brianna Isles jumped 17' 6” (5.33m) to take 26th place in the event.
RaeKwon Villines competed in both the long jump and triple jump in Durham, notching a lifetime best of 45' 4 ¼” (13.82m) in the triple and a season-best of 22' 4 ½” (6.81m) in the long jump.
A plethora of UNC's distance runners competed in the Duke Invitational over the weekend, with a number of athletes recording season best and lifetime best times.
On Friday evening, Jeremy Brown, Mitch Resor and Carl Geiger competed in the 5000m for the Tar Heels. Brown finished in seventh place with a time of 14:54.35 and his teammates followed closely behind as Mitch Resor placed 23rd (15:18.16) and Carl Geiger (15:24.26) finished 27th.
Noah Shore led North Carolina in the 800m, clocking in at 1:52.93 to finish in 17th place. Freshman Connor Peeples followed closely behind, crossing the finish line in a season-best time of 1:53.66 to place 22nd. Henry Pehr also competed for North Carolina, finishing in 33rd place with a collegiate best time of 1:55.94.
Peeples and Shore returned to the Morris Williams Track & Field Stadium on Saturday evening for the 1500m. Peeples finished in 14th place with a time of 3:55.23, while Shore crossed the finish line in 3:57.27 to place 22nd.
Freshman Blair Ramsey paced the Tar Heels in the 1500m on Saturday evening, as she clocked in at 4:34.27 to finish in sixth place. Lucy Biles was just slightly behind, running a 4:38.18 to finish in ninth place. In addition, Casey Greenwalt ran a personal record of 4:42.27 to place 19th for the Tar Heels.
Biles and Greenwalt also competed in the 800m on Friday evening, with the former taking 13th place with a time of 2:14.63 and the latter finishing in 17th with a time of 2:15.96.
UP NEXT
North Carolina will return to Charlottesville, Va., next weekend for the Virginia Grand Prix on April 29. This will be the Tar Heels final regular season competition prior to postseason competition, which will kick off with the ACC Outdoor Championship on May 12-14.
“As a whole, we were able to build form the momentum that we had at Tennessee. We have another week of competition at UVa next weekend before we head into exams. It was an extremely productive week for us in which we continued our momentum,” said Meaders.
Players Mentioned
