Shippee and Wiltrout Win ACC Titles

Thursday, May 9

Charlottesville, Va.

All Day

North Carolina

ACC Outdoor Track & Field Championships

Jill Shippee

Photo by: Cheryl Treworgy

May 9, 2019 | Track & Field

Thursday Results Live Results Schedule Meet Notes Watch Friday (6 p.m.)Watch Saturday (4 p.m.)

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - North Carolina's Jill Shippee and Madison Wiltrout each earned ACC titles on the opening day of the ACC Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Lannigan Field on the campus of the University of Virginia Thursday. Shippee won the women's hammer throw and Wiltrout the women's javelin to get the Tar Heels off to an incredible start.

"It was an exciting day," head coach Harlis Meaders said. "Both Jill and Madison have held high national rankings all year so to see them bring those national-level performances to the conference meet was really exciting. Anna Keefer scored some points in the women's long jump which was another great finish for us. The men in the 1,500 raced really smart. To have both Alex Milligan and Brandon Tubby in the finals is a big plus for us."

Shippee, a sophomore from Clifton Park, N.Y., had an historic day to win her hammer throw title. On her first throw, she matched her latest personal record of 220-1 (67.09 meters) to take an insurmountable lead. Shippee extended that lead in the finals, throwing 224-3 (68.36 meters) to set the school record for the fifth time in her career. That 68-plus meter mark not only gave Shippee the new ACC Championship meet record but also set a new conference record to make the sophomore the best women's hammer thrower in the history of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

"When you think about all of the great throwers to come through this conference, for a true sophomore to be the best in history — at this point — is really quite an accomplishment," Meaders said. "I believe Jill is a super talented competitor and I think there are big things on the horizon for her."

Shippee is Carolina's first ACC champion in the women's hammer throw since Laura Gerraughty won the event in 2006. With her performance today, Shippee moves up to first in the east region and fourth in NCAA Division I competition.

In the women's javelin, Wiltrout, a redshirt freshman from Connellsville, Pa., also secured her ACC title on her opening throw. Her mark of 182-5 (55.60 meters) reset her own school record and ranks third regionally and seventh nationally.

"Madison, of course, was injured during her true freshman year and has been through a lot to simply get back to being able to throw," Meaders said. "To be able to come back at this level was incredible and I think she's still got a lot more in the tank. Coach Gorski has done an amazing job working with her."

Wiltrout is the first Tar Heel to win an ACC title in the women's javelin since Erin Donohue in 2002.

Joining Shippee and Wiltrout on the All-ACC stage, Anna Keefer earned her fourth-consecutive All-ACC honors in the women's long jump. A sophomore from St. Michael Albertville, Minn., Keefer finished sixth with a season-best mark of 20-3 1/2 (6.18 meters). Keefer is expected to make at least one more appearance in the Championship meet, this time on the track in Friday's 100-meter prelims.

"I think we're off to a fantastic start and hopefully the other kids on the team will see what this group has started and just sort of feed the fire," Meaders said. "I think we've got a great spark and a lot of energy and now it's just up to us to keep it going."

THURSDAY TAR HEEL HIGHLIGHTS
Men
• Cameron Douglas, a junior from Loganville, Ga., advanced to the finals of the men's 200-meter with his time of 21.07 seconds.
• Brandon Tubby, a junior from Hillsborough, N.J., won his heat to advance to the men's 1,500-meter final with his time of 3:53.18.
• Alex Milligan, a junior from State College, Pa., advanced to the men's 1500 final with his time of 3:48.78.
• Ryan Saint-Germain, a sophomore from Jacksonville, Fla., ran a personal-best wind-legal time of 21.21 seconds in the men's 200.
• Mitch Resor, a junior from Charlotte, N.C., ran a personal-record time of 3:50.94 in the men's 1,500.
• Jared Martin, a redshirt junior from Greensboro, N.C., finished 10th in the men's javelin with his mark of 197-3 (60.13 meters).
• Joey Souza, a redshirt-junior from Kingsburg, Calif., finished 13th in the men's long jump with his mark of 23-4½ (7.12 meters).

Women
• Alex Cooke, a graduate student from Lowgap, N.C., finished ninth in the women's hammer throw with the second-best mark of her career — 198-9 (60.59 meters).
• Nicole Barnes, a freshman from High Point, N.C., finished 14th in the women's long jump with a personal-best performance of 19-4 1/4 (5.90 meters).
• Emily Malone, a freshman from Missoula, Mont., finished ninth in the women's javelin with her mark of 148-0 (45.11 meters).
• Emmeline Fisher, a sophomore transfer from Morehead City, N.C., wrapped up her first season in a Carolina blue uniform and ran 4:35.66 in the women's 1,500 meters.

HOW TO FOLLOW
For those fans traveling to the Championships, there is no charge for admission.

Live Streaming
ACC Network Extra will again stream three hours of live action on the event's first night (Thursday, May 9), 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.

ACC Network Extra will bring live action Thursday from 6 until 9 p.m. Friday's live coverage will air from 6 p.m. until 8:30 p.m., followed by Saturday's finals from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m.

Live Stream Links
Thursday | Friday | Saturday

Additional Information
Live Results | Schedule of Events | Meet Notes | ACC Championship Central

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.