University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Raleigh Relays Day 2
Cooke & Martin Throw For Lifetime Bests At Raleigh Relays
March 31, 2018 | Track & Field
RALEIGH, N.C. - The University of North Carolina's Alex Cooke and Jared Martin set new lifetime bests in their respective events to lead the Tar Heels on the final day of the Raleigh Relays at the Paul H. Derr Track & Field Facility Saturday on the campus of N.C. State.
Cooke, a redshirt-junior from Lowgap, N.C., threw for 188-5 (57.43 meters) in the women's hammer throw to set a new personal best in the event by nearly two meters and take fourth in the competition. Cooke also surpassed her previous personal best of 181-11 (55.46 meters) on four of her six attempts, throwing for 183-0 (first attempt), 185-4 (second attempt), 188-5 (third attempt) and 182-3 (sixth attempt). Cooke currently sits in ninth in the ACC this season in the hammer.
"That was a really solid day for Alex," head coach Harlis Meaders said. "The first couple of meets have been a little hit and miss as she has been throwing the hammer like it's the weight, but now she is getting the feel for the hammer."
Martin, a redshirt-sophomore from Greensboro, N.C., set a new lifetime best in the men's javelin, throwing for 186-5 (56.82 meters) on his second attempt. The throw placed him 11th in the competition. The mark is the 10th-best throw in the ACC so far this season.
"It was really good for us to get outside and get on the big oval because our outdoor track has been under construction, so we have been limited a little bit with what we can do," Meaders said. "Overall, I think today was a really good day for us."
OTHER SATURDAY HIGHLIGHTS
Men
• The 4x100 team of Ryan Saint-Germain, Isaiah Palmer, Brandon Reddick and Dontavian Smith took fourth overall, running 40.79.
• The 4x800 squad of Alex Milligan, Cory Nicholls, Luke Peterson and Logan Carroll finished third overall, running 7:37.88.
• Redshirt-freshman Mark Myers ran 30:27.05 in the 10,000 meters in what was his first career race at the distance.
Women
• Senior Blake Dodge ran just off her PR in the women's invitational section of the 800 meters, running 2:08.10 to take sixth. The top three finishers in the race broke the meet and facility record for the event.Â
• Sophomore Brianna Isles and senior Janice Ezenwa finished third and fourth, respectively, in the triple jump, both jumping 38-8 ¾ (11.80m).
FRIDAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
Caroline Alcorta ran the second-fastest 10,000 meters in UNC history Friday, finishing in 33:54.23 to claim second. It was Alcorta's first time ever racing at the distance, and the time is not only second in school history but also the second-fastest time in the nation this season.
Alcorta, a senior from Springfield, Va., finished second only to the defending indoor 5,000-meter ACC champion, Dorcas Wasike of Louisville, and now ranks top-five all-time in the indoor 3,000 meters and the outdoor 10,000 meters at UNC. Her time in the 10,000 meters is only second to Joan Nesbit, who ran 32:54.19 in 1984.
Also in the distance events, junior Morgan Ilse (Dunwoody, Ga,) won her section of the women's 1,500 meters in a personal-best 4:20.57, holding off the challenging pack down the final straightaway. She ultimately placed 10th out of 136 competitors across 10 heats. Her time is second in the ACC so far this season and ranks top-15 in the NCAA.Â
In the field events, sophomore Daniel McArthur (Mooresville, N.C.) captured his second victory in the men's shot put this season, throwing for 58-10 ¾ (17.95 meters) on his final attempt to finish over a meter ahead of the field. McArthur also threw farther with each of his throws, and four of his six attempts were farther than the next best thrower in the competition.
Meaders is particularly pleased with how his unit of throwers has performed thus far this season, with Cooke and McArthur having standout performances at the Raleigh Relays and freshman Jill Shippee having performed exceptionally well in the season's first two meets.
"I think we are putting ourselves in position to do some things later on in the season," Meaders said. "We want to be able to help the team not only at the conference level, but we will try to advance kids to the NCAA finals in Eugene. Daniel was a little more consistent this week, especially after not competing during indoors after coming off of the injury, and he hasn't had a lot of training. So he is starting to find his rhythm and is starting to come back. Alex had a fantastic indoor season, finishing second in the weight throw in the ACC meet, but she was still a little short of the national meet. So, she is eager and ready to make an even bigger contribution. Then Jill, the freshman who was a highly-touted recruit, she has come out and had two really good early-season meets. We took this weekend off with hopes of trying to take the next step next week."
NEXT UP: The Tar Heels will stay within the Triangle next weekend, taking on Duke and Michigan in the Battle of the Blues in Durham, N.C. on April 7th. Fans are encouraged to attend and cheer on the Tar Heels in their final local competition of the year.Â
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Players Mentioned
