Tar Heels Finish With Solid Showing At VertKlasse

Friday, March 22

High Point, NC

10 a.m.

North Carolina

VertKlasse Meeting

Jill Shippee

Photo by: Carl Kafka Photography

March 23, 2019 | Track & Field

Complete Results

HIGH POINT, N.C. - The North Carolina track and field programs finished up competition at High Point's VertKlasse Meeting with solid showings across the event list.

Ten Tar Heels combined for 12 outdoor season debuts while seven had season-best individual performances, two set new personal records and four individuals and two relays won their respective events.

"At the conclusion of the second meet of the season, I'm really happy about the progress the team is making," head coach Harlis Meaders said. "Notable improvements by Anna Keefer in the 200, both of the 4x100 relays were able to finish with faster times than last week and in the field events we remained strong. Nicole Greene had another excellent outing and in the women's hammer throw, I was happy to see Jill Shippee make her sophomore year debut with a solid opening mark and Alex Cooke again continues to improve. We still have a ways to go, but I think the team is moving in the right direction."

Sophomore Jill Shippee opened her outdoor season with an impressive performance in the women's hammer throw. The Clifton Heights, N.Y. native — and current Carolina record holder — threw 209-2 (63.77 meters) for the second-best throw of her career and the second-best mark in school history. Her mark also ranks second in the ACC, fourth in the east region and sixth in the nation. Shippee finished second overall in the event with the best throw by an attached competitor.

Redshirt junior Nicole Greene and redshirt freshman Madison Wiltrout each claimed their second of back-to-back event titles in their respective events. Green hit a season-best height of 5-11 3/4 (1.82 meters) for the second-best high jump in the nation and Wiltrout threw 167-6 (51.05 meters) to win the women's javelin competition.

On the track, sophomore Anna Keefer had a standout race in the women's 200. A native of St. Michael Albertsville, Minn., Keefer clocked a lifetime-best 23.54 to win the event with the fifth-best time in the ACC, the eighth-best in the east region and the 14th-best across NCAA Division I competition.

The Tar Heels also swept the 4x100 events as both the women's and men's relays brought home gold. Freshman Nicole Barnes, sophomore Peighton Simmons, Keefer and senior Katlin Sherman teamed up to finish first in the women's competition with a time of 45.55 and freshman Qhiyal Towns and sophomores Dontavian Smith, Jadon Johnson and Isaiah Palmer ran 40.67 to win the men's relay.

OTHER CAROLINA HIGHLIGHTS
• Sophomore Emerson Porter cleared a lifetime-best height of 13-1 3/4 (4.01 meters) in the women's pole vault invite competition to tie for second place.
• Graduate student Alex Cooke finished seventh in the women's hammer throw with a season best 191-3 (58.30 meters).
• Junior Brianna Isles won the women's triple jump with a mark of 39-3 1/4 (11.97 meters).
• Senior Nicole Kiszenia nearly matched her personal record with a season-best discus mark of 136-10 (41.71 meters) for fifth place in the women's competition.
• Sophomore Isaiah Palmer ran a personal-best outdoor 200 time of 21.58 to finish fifth in the men's race.
• Redshirt junior Jared Martin and junior Will Eskew each had season-best throws in the men's javelin competition — Martin 204-3 (62.26 meters) and Eskew 164-7 (50.17 meters).

UP NEXT: The Tar Heels will split the weekend between the Florida Relays in Gainesville, Fla. from March 28-30 and the Raleigh Relays at NC State in Raleigh, N.C. from March 29-30.