University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
ACC Outdoor Track & Field Championships Day 1
ACC Outdoor Track & Field Championships Begin Thursday
May 9, 2018 | Track & Field
CORAL GABLES, Fla. - The University of North Carolina track and field teams will compete at the 2018 ACC Outdoor Track & Field Championships on the campus of Miami beginning Thursday, May 10 through Saturday, May 12.
The Tar Heels will take a team of 43 individuals and four relays to the Championships held at Cobb Stadium. This is the second time Carolina will visit the complex this season, having already competed in the Hurricane Collegiate Invitational on April 14. In that meet, multiple Tar Heels set lifetime bests, but the teams' performances were highlighted by sophomore Brianna Duncan breaking the 21-year-old UNC record in the women's 200 meters and senior Kenny Selmon running the fastest time and fifth-fastest time in the world in the men's 400-meter hurdles.
The Championships will get underway Thursday with the multi events beginning at 11 a.m., field events beginning at 3 p.m. and events on the track beginning at 6 p.m with the 400-meter hurdles prelims. Event finals to be contested Thursday include the hammer, high jump, women's pole vault and the 10,000 meters. Events in the preliminary stage will be the 400-meter hurdles, 200 meters and 1,500 meters.
The meet will resume Friday at 11:00 a.m. with the final events of the decathlon and heptathlon to be contested. The field events will begin at 3 p.m., and the track events will get underway at 5:45 p.m. Event finals to be contested Friday include the decathlon, heptathlon, long jump, shot put, men's pole vault and the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Events in the preliminary stage will be the 100/110-meter hurdles, 400 meters, 100 meters and 800 meters.
The final day of the Championships begins at 12 p.m. Saturday with the field events, with the remaining event finals to take place, including the javelin, discus and triple jump. The finals of the remaining track events (4x100, 1,500m, 100/110m hurdles, 400m, 100m, 800m, 400m hurdles, 200m, 5,000m, 4x400) will begin at 5 p.m. with the 4x100.
The top three medalists in each event will earn first-team All-ACC honors, and student-athletes placing fourth through sixth in each individual event comprise the second team. Members of each winning relay will be designated first-team All-ACC, and members of each second and third-place relay team will earn second-team All-ACC honors.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Live Streaming: ACC Network Extra will lstream four hours of live action on the event's first night (Thursday, May 10), followed by four hours of coverage on Friday and Saturday evenings. Sean Kenney returns to handle play-by-play, while former U.S. Olympic standout Dan O'Brien will serve as analyst. The pair will be joined by distance race analyst David Mitchell and Melanie Newman as sideline reporter. Coverage will air Thursday from 6-9 p.m. Friday's live coverage will air from 5:30-9:30 p.m., followed by Saturday's finals from 5-9 p.m.
Links to each day's livestream:
May 10, 6-9 p.m. — http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/3357487/acc-track--field-championships
May 11, 5:30-9:30 p.m. — http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/3357486/acc-track--field-championships
May 12, 5-9 p.m. — http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/3357490/acc-track--field-championships
Live Results: Live results for the entire weekend will be available courtesy of FlashResults.com.
theacc.co/otf18results
2018 ACC Outdoor Championships Page: http://theacc.com/tournaments/?id=24
2018 Indoor Championships Schedule of Events: theacc.co/otf18sched
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 each day of competition.
IN THE RANKINGS
Heading into the 2018 ACC Outdoor Championships, the Tar Heels hold 13 top-five times/marks in the ACC, 13 top-25 times/marks in the east region and 13 times/marks that rank top-50 in the country.
Kenny Selmon's time of 48.98 in the 400-meter hurdles continues to be the best in the country and is the seventh-best time in the world this season. Anna Keefer's long jump of 20-9 (6.32meters) is No. 1 in the ACC and Cierra Dunston (400 meters – 52.99), Brianna Duncan (200 meters – 23.13) and Jill Shippee (Hammer – 207-4) rank in the top three in the ACC in their respective events. Both 4x100 relays and the men's 4x400 also rank in the top three.
HEAD COACH HARLIS MEADERS' COMMENTS
On how he feels about the team compared to goals set at the beginning of the season
"It has been a season of continued improvement," head coach Harlis Meaders said. "All of the athletes, men and women, have gotten better as we have gone throughout the season. With the women's program, we are particularly anxious to see if we can continue that trend, and how well that will place us at the ACC Championships. Coming off of a fifth-place finish indoors, we were right in the middle of things, and I feel like we add a couple of events that are strong for us outdoors. So, we've got the opportunity to be one of the best programs in the conference."
On what this team is bringing to the table
"Really it's just a balanced team, and that has been our philosophy – to put forth a balanced team. We think we are getting closer to doing that, especially with the women's side. So, I am excited to see if we can pull it all together at the meet. It has been a fun team to watch. With Coach Abigi Id-Deen being a new addition to our staff, and then with the energy that Nicole Greene brought with winning the national championship, this team is very focused. I think it is very capable, and I think we could have one of our better, overall team finishes."
On challenging the team to believe they can compete at these championships
"I think it has been good, especially with the freshman. When they first joined the ACC, and they had a chance to see some of the elite-level athletes, not only on their team but some of the athletes in our conference, it is easy to become a fan. And we are not here to be fans. We are here to be competitors in the venue. We had the indoor season to break off some of those freshman jitters, and I think we are more focused and ready to go."
Players Mentioned
