Carolina Wraps Up Outdoor Opener

Friday, March 15

Atlanta, GA

6 p.m.

North Carolina

Yellow Jacket Invitational

Madison Wiltrout

March 16, 2019 | Track & Field

Results

ATLANTA, Ga. - North Carolina track & field wrapped up their outdoor season opener at the Yellow Jacket Invitational on Saturday.

"Looking back at the competition this weekend, I thought we got off to a good start," head coach Harlis Meaders said. "Really excited to see the student-athletes who haven't had a chance to compete this season until now. The men's and women's javelin throwers performed really well for the early part of the season and it was fun watching the women's 4x100 pull out a really close race in lane eight. That's an entire relay of underclassmen so it was great to see them get the win. A really good debut for the women's program especially."

The Tar Heels picked up four events wins over the course of the competition.

Redshirt junior and 2018 NCAA indoor champion Nicole Greene made her return debut in the women's high jump, winning the event with a height of 5-11 1/4 (1.81 meters).

Redshirt freshman Madison Wiltrout took the women's javelin title in her first ever collegiate appearance in a Tar Heel uniform. Wiltrout's mark of 168-7 (51.39 meters) just missed the fifth-best all-time throw in UNC history (168-10). Freshman Emily Malone also had an impressive showing in the women's javelin, throwing 149-4 (45.52 meters) for fourth place and a new personal record by nearly three feet.

Graduate student Alex Cooke kicked off the Tar Heels' outdoor season on Friday with a first-place finish and a mark of 181-0 (55.18 meters) in the women's hammer.

On the track, Carolina's women's 4x100 — freshman Nicole Barnes, sophomore Peighton Simmons, sophomore Anna Keefer, freshman Lauryn Hall — won a tight race with a time of 45.28.

"Next week, we'll see a larger group of athletes competing at High Point," Meaders said. "Some of the kids who had really comprehensive indoor seasons stayed back to continue training during this meet so I think we'll see a better reflection of the team's strength as a whole."

OTHER CAROLINA HIGHLIGHTS
• Sophomore Emerson Porter finished second in the women's pole vault competition, clearing 12-7 1/2 (3.85 meters) in a jump-off for first place.
• Junior Yaw Sackey threw a personal-best discus mark of 145-0 (44.20 meters).
• Junior transfer Ari Cogdell and freshmen Saypadia DeSaussure II and Qhiyal Towns made their Carolina debuts in the men's 4x100 and 4x400 relays. DeSaussure II, Dontavian Smith, Cogdell and Joey Souza finished third in the 4x1 (41.35) while Cogdell, Smith, Towns and Amari DeVaughn wrapped up the day in fourth (3:19.99).

UP NEXT: The Tar Heels will travel to High Point, N.C. for the 2019 VertKlasse Meeting at the Dick Vert Stadium on the campus of High Point University.