Tar Heels Travel to Virginia Tech Invitational

The University of North Carolina track & field program will take to the road for the first time on the season Friday and Saturday at the Virginia Tech Invitational at Rector Field House in Blacksburg, Va. The Tar Heels are expected to bring a strong contingent of 40 athletes, 24 men and 16 women, to the two-day meet.

The 2020 Virginia Tech Invitational will feature 12 schools: Duke, Elon, Howard University, Liberty, Pitt, Tennessee, UNC, Charlotte, VCU, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.

Competition is slated to begin Friday with both field and track events opening at 5 p.m. The men's 300-meter run will wrap up day one at 8:35 p.m., and meet action is set to resume Saturday at 11:00 a.m. on the field while track events take to the starting blocks at 1:00 p.m. The Virginia Tech Invitational will conclude following the women's and men's 4x400 relays at 3:00 p.m. and 3:20 p.m., respectively.

HOW TO FOLLOW
A full schedule of events and a link to live results are available at GoHeels.com.

Fans can also follow @unctrack_field on Twitter and Instagram for 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.

Live Results | Heat Sheets | Schedule | Meet Info

LAST TIME OUT
The University of North Carolina track & field program opened its 2020 season Saturday with the Dick Taylor Carolina Challenge at Eddie Smith Field House. Between the men's and women's teams the Tar Heels finished the day with six individual victories as well as several other podium finishes and personal records.

Daniel McArthur returned with a strong showing for Carolina, winning both of his events. McArthur blew away his personal record in the weight throw, improving his best mark by over two meters. His mark of 62-1.75 (18.94m) was the best of all collegiate competitors and earned him a third-place overall finish. McArthur also won the shot put competition, coming up just two feet shy of his own school record with a throw of 64-2.5 (19.57m). On the track, the trio of Cameron Douglas, Qhiyal Towns and Dontavian Smith combined to sweep the men's 60-meter-dash podium. Douglas' time of 6.79 seconds sets a personal record and moves him into a three-way tie, along with Smith, for the second-fastest time in school history.

For the women, Anna Keefer came away with first- and second-place finishes in the long jump and 60 meters, respectively. Her time of 7.47 seconds in the 60-meter run narrowly missed a personal record while her jump of 19-4 (5.89m) in the long jump gave her a four-inch margin over the rest of the field. Jill Shippee also highlighted the women's team. Her mark of 64-8.5 (19.72m) in the weight throw gave her close to a five-meter (4.97m) margin of victory.

Other Tar Heels made impressive indoor debuts. Fifth year Draven Crist won the men's high jump with a mark of 6-11.5 (2.12 meters). Junior Madias Loper set a new personal record in the men's shot put, throwing 56-9.25 (17.30 meters). Senior Ari Cogdell won the men's 400-meter dash with a time of 49.22 seconds. Senior Ashley Smith set a new personal record, indoor or outdoor, in the women's mile, covering 1,609 meters in 5:05.99. Fresham Ben Finger cleared a personal-best height of 16-2.75 (4.95m) in the men's pole vault and finished in a tie for second place, and the men's 4x400 A and B relays took second and third in the event. The 'B' relay (Ari Cogdell, Isaiah Palmer, Dontavian Smith, Harrison Young) clocked 3:19.68 while the 'A' relay (Jadon Johnson, Cameron Douglas, Qhiyal Towns, Matthew Harris) finished with a time of 3:20.70.

IN THE RANKINGS
North Carolina holds 12 top-five marks/times in the ACC (including the No. 1 spot in the men's shot put and a share of first in the men's pole vault) and 14 top-50 marks/times in the NCAA. Senior Daniel McArthur currently ranks first in the ACC and fourth in the NCAA in the men's shot put as well as third in the conference and 39^th nationally in the weight throw.

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Players Mentioned

Ari Cogdell

Draven Crist

Cameron Douglas

Ben Finger

Matthew Harris

Jadon Johnson

Anna Keefer

Madias Loper

Daniel McArthur

Isaiah Palmer

Jill Shippee

Ashley Smith

Dontavian Smith

Qhiyal Towns

Harrison Young

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University of North Carolina Athletics