University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
NCAA East Preliminary Round Day 2
Selmon Remains Undefeated; Punches Fourth Ticket To Eugene
May 25, 2018 | Track & Field
TAMPA, Fla. – North Carolina senior Kenny Selmon punched his ticket in the 400-meter hurdles to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Ore. for the fourth time in as many years Friday at the NCAA East Preliminary Round.
Selmon, a three-time All-America competitor in the long hurdles, remained undefeated on the season by clocking a season-best 48.91, the top time in the quarterfinals at the USF Track & Field Stadium.Â
"Kenny has been very consistent throughout the season," head coach Harlis Meaders said. "I'm really happy to see him advance to Eugene and have another crack at becoming an NCAA champion. He has been on the podium several times, but I think he is more prepared this season than he as ever been.
As a freshman, Selmon took 12th at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. As a sophomore, he earned the bronze medal. And then last season, Selmon broke UNC's school record in the event to finish fourth in 48.60.
"It's going to be my last time," Selmon said. "'Last set, best set' is what they say. I would really like to end it on a good note. I've been there three times. The first time I didn't make it to the final, and the last two times I made it to the final, had great races but didn't do what I wanted. I want to make sure that it happens this time so I can come back a national champion."
Also on the track, sophomore Brianna Duncan advanced to tomorrow's quarterfinals of the women's 200 meters by breaking her own school record (23.13), running 23.03. She ran the wind-legal time despite an approaching storm that would delay the meet just minutes later.Â
Earlier in the day, Duncan also finished 19th in the quarterfinals of the women's 100 meters. This is Duncan's first trip to the NCAA East Preliminary Round.
"Brianna performed a little bit less than where she wanted to be at the ACC Championships," Meaders said. "But she came back in this meet and had a lifetime best in the 200 and two very good runs in the 100 in stiffer competition. She is maturing tremendously and she is going to be a tremendous asset to our program."
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
Men
• Freshman Isaiah Palmer ran a lifetime-best 46.40 in the 400 meters quarterfinals, ultimately finishing 17th in the east region in his first trip to the prelims.
• Senior Brandon Reddick ran a lifetime-best in the first round of the 200 meters for the fourth-straight meet. His time of 20.83 put him 32nd in the NCAA East Prelims after coming into the meet as the 40th seed.
Women
• Senior Natisha Dixon ran a wind-legal personal-best 13.47 in the 100-meter hurdles, the final individual race of her Tar Heel career.
"We have been talking to our kids about performing at a high level in the big meets and how to handle the pressure of coming into the NCAA prelims and advancing," Meaders said. "We have told them that if you perform at or close to the performance you had to qualify for the NCAA prelims, then your chances of advancing are really high. I'm excited to see that a majority of our kids have performed at or even better than their qualifying marks in the biggest meet of the season."
The final day of the east prelims will resume Saturday at 8:45 a.m. Tar Heels in the field events looking to go to the NCAA Championships will be freshman Jill Shippee and redshirt-junior Alex Cooke in the women's hammer throw (8:45 a.m.), redshirt-sophomore Jared Martin in the men's javelin (1:30 p.m.), redshirt-sophomore Draven Crist in the men's high jump (2 p.m.), freshman Peighton Simmons in the women's triple jump (12:30 p.m.), junior Zay Paschall in the men's triple jump (3:30 p.m.) and sophomore Daniel McArthur in the men's shot put (5:30 p.m.)
On the track, the women's 4x100 will hit the track at 12:30 p.m., redshirt-freshman Alex Milligan will race in the men's 1,500 meters quarterfinals (1 p.m.) and Brianna Duncan will run in the women's 200 meters quarterfinals (2:20 p.m.) trying to advance to Eugene. Senior Caroline Alcorta and junior Morgan Ilse will race in the NCAA semifinals of the women's 5,000 at 8:45 p.m, and then the evening will close with the men's and women's 4x400 relays – men at 3:55 p.m. and women at 4:15 p.m.
SATURDAY'S CAROLINA COMPETITORS
Men
Draven Crist – High Jump
Crist, a redshirt-sophomore from Burlington, N.C., has qualified for the NCAA East Preliminary round for the first time in his career. He jumped an outdoor personal best 6-11 ½ (2.12 meters) at the Duke Invitational on April 21 and is seeded 42nd this weekend.
WHEN TO WATCH
Saturday, 2 p.m. (First Round)
Jared Martin – Javelin
Martin, a redshirt-sophomore from Greensboro, N.C., earned first-team All-ACC honors in the javelin after taking second at the ACC Outdoor Track & Field Championships with a lifetime-best throw of 220-10 (67.31 meters). Martin has only been throwing javelin for just two years after originally coming to Carolina as a swimmer. He is seeded 23rd in his first trip to the NCAA East prelims.
WHEN TO WATCH
Saturday, 1:30 p.m. (First Round)
Daniel McArthur – Discus
McArthur, a sophomore from Mooresville, N.C., is making his second trip the East Prelims. He currently ranks top three in UNC history in both the outdoor shot put and discus. He is seeded 25th in the shot put with a throw of 60-1 ¾ (18.33 meters).
WHEN TO WATCH
Saturday, 5:30 p.m. (First Round)
Alex Milligan – 1,500 meters
Milligan, a redshirt-freshman from State College, Pa., has qualified for the East Preliminary Round for the first time. At the ACC Championships, he took seventh in the 1,500 meters. Milligan is seeded 29th this weekend with a personal-best time of 3:44.69.
WHEN TO WATCH
Saturday, 1 p.m. (Quarterfinal)
Zay Paschall – Triple Jump
Paschall, a junior from Harrisburg, Pa., is making his second-career trip to the east prelims to compete in the long jump, but is competing in the triple jump for the first time. He is ranked 36th in the triple jump thanks to his personal-best 50-7 ½ (15.43 meters) he jumped at the Hurricane Collegiate Invitational on April 14.
WHEN TO WATCH
Saturday, 3:30 p.m. (First Round)
4x400-meter relay
Carolina is sending a men's 4x400 team to the NCAA East Preliminary Round for the ninth-straight season. The Tar Heels captured the ACC title in the event for the fifth time in six seasons with a time of 3:07.66 from Brandon Cachon, Isaiah Palmer, Cory Nicholls and Kenny Selmon. The team's best time this season of 3:07.03 from Jadon Johnson, Palmer, Cachon and Selmon gives them the 14th seed in the east prelims.
WHEN TO WATCH
Saturday, 3:55 p.m. (Quarterfinal)
Women
Caroline Alcorta – 5,000 meters
Alcorta, a senior from Springfield, Va., is making her third trip to the NCAA East Preliminary Round. She is seeded 11th in the 5,000 meters. She ran a lifetime-best 16:01.59 at the Virginia Challenge on April 21.
WHEN TO WATCH
Saturday, 8:45 p.m. (Semifinal)
Alex Cooke – Hammer Throw
Cooke, a redshirt-junior from Low Gap, N.C., is making her first trip to the NCAA East Preliminary round. She is seeded 29th in the hammer throw at 196-7 (59.91 meters), a lifetime-best throw she achieved at the Battle of the Blues on April 6. The throw is fifth in UNC history.
WHEN TO WATCH
Saturday, 8:45 a.m. (First Round)
Brianna Duncan – 200 meters
Duncan, a sophomore from Cambridge, Mass., has broken school records in the 60 meters, 100 meters and outdoor 200 meters this season and is making her first trip to the NCAA east prelims. Each of the records stood for at least 20 years. She is seeded 21st in the 200 meters with her time of 23.13 that she ran at the Hurricane Collegiate Invitational on April 14.
WHEN TO WATCH
200m – Saturday, 2:20 p.m. (Quarterfinal)
Morgan Ilse – 5,000 meters
Ilse, a junior from Dunwoody, Ga., is making her second appearance in the 5,000 meters at the NCAA East Preliminary Round. She is seeded 13th after running a lifetime-best 16:05.83 at the Virginia Challenge on April 21. Ilse holds UNC's school record in the indoor 5,000 meters.
WHEN TO WATCH
Saturday, 8:45 p.m. (Semifinal)
Jill Shippee – Hammer Throw
Shippee, a freshman from Clifton Park, N.Y., is UNC's record holder in the hammer throw with a personal-best 207-4 (63.19 meters) she threw at the Virginia Challenge on April 21. She took fourth in the event at the ACC Outdoor Championships and she is seeded eighth in the field this weekend.
WHEN TO WATCH
Saturday, 8:45 a.m. (First Round)
Peighton Simmons – Triple Jump
Simmons, a freshman from High Point, N.C., is seeded 42nd in the triple jump with her leap of 41-5 ¾ (12.64 meters) from the Virginia Grand Prix on April 28.
WHEN TO WATCH
Saturday, 12:30 p.m. (First Round)
4x100-meter relay
The relay of Brianna Duncan, Katlin Sherman, Anna Keefer and Cierra Dunston has the fifth-fastest time in UNC history at 44.29, a time they ran at the Hurricane Collegiate Invitational on April 14. The group comprises UNC's fastest 4x100 since 1998 and is seeded 10th in the event this weekend.
WHEN TO WATCH
Saturday, 12:45 p.m. (Quarterfinal)
4x400-meter relay
The Tar Heels are sending a 4x400 to the east prelims for the second-straight year. The group of Jewel Christian, Cierra Dunston, Natisha Dixon and McKinley McNeill took third at the ACC Outdoor Championships with the fourth-fastest time in UNC history of 3:34.97. The team is seeded 12th in the event this weekend.
WHEN TO WATCH
Saturday, 4:15 p.m. (Quarterfinal)
HOW TO FOLLOW
Subscribers to FloTrack Pro will be able to live stream the NCAA East Preliminary Round in its entirety with a monthly subscription.
Link to sign up and watch: https://bit.ly/2IMww77
Live results for the entire weekend will be available courtesy of FlashResults.com.
Live Results Link: https://on.ncaa.com/2rPoErR
A full schedule of events, heat sheets and a link to live results are also available at GoHeels.com.
Fans can follow @unctrack_field on Twitter and Instagram for live updates throughout the meet. UNC Track & Field is also on Facebook. A recap of performances and results will be posted on GoHeels.com following the conclusion of competition.
Players Mentioned
