Shippee Dominates at Virginia Tech Invitational

Friday, January 17

Blacksburg, VA

5 p.m.

North Carolina

Virginia Tech Invitational

Jill Shippee

Photo by: Cheryl Treworgy

January 17, 2020 | Track & Field

Results (PDF)

The University of North Carolina track & field program kicked off their first road trip of 2020 at the Virginia Tech Invitational Friday in Rector Field House in Blacksburg, VA. The Tar Heels were led by a dominant performance from Jill Shippee in the women's weight throw as well as another strong showing from the men's sprints.

Jill Shippee, a junior from Clifton Park, N.Y., won the women's weight throw while narrowly missing a season best with her mark of 64-5 (19.63m). Shippee finished the competition with four legal throws, all of which bested the second-place mark. The Carolina men and women combined to break seven and tie two personal records on day one of the two-day meet.

Qhiyal Towns, a sophomore from Newport News, Va., led another solid list of performances by the men's sprints. Towns finished second in the 60-meter dash final with a time of 6.81 seconds, matching his prelim time and his personal record from last week at the Dick Taylor Carolina Challenge. His time is currently tied for sixth in school history. Dontavian Smith also competed in the men's 60-meter final, finishing fourth with a time of 6.82 seconds. Also on the track, Ari Cogdell and Brandon Cachon took second and fourth in the 500 meters, finishing in 1:02.97 and 1:03.30, respectively.

Competition will resume Saturday morning at 11:00 a.m. with the women's high jump and pole vault. Events are set to resume on the track at 1:00 p.m. with the women's 400 meters. The meet culminates with the women's and men's 4x400 relays starting at 3:00 p.m.

OTHER TAR HEEL HIGHLIGHTS:

Madias Loper, a junior from Fayetteville, Ga., set a new personal record in the men's weight throw with a mark of 56-4.75 (17.19m).
Mitch Resor and Ian Moini set personal records in the men's mile. Resor, a senior from Charlotte, N.C., finished in 4:11.97, while Moini, a junior from Princeton, N.J., ran 4:13.83.
Anna Keefer, a junior from St. Michael Albertville, Minn., matched her personal best time of 7.44 seconds in the women's 60-meter dash prelims.
Ashley Smith and Camryn Petit set personal records in the women's 3,000 meters. Smith, a senior from Clemmons, N.C., finished with a time of 10:07.09, while Petit, a sophomore from Braselton, Ga., ran 10:10.34.
Jake McEneaney and Ryan Combs set personal records in the men's 3,000 meters. McEneaney, a junior from Naperville, Ill., finished with a time of 8:35.27, while Combs, a sophomore from Chapel Hill, N.C., ran 8:50.03.