Looking Back At The Outdoor Track And Field Season

It's been one month since the Tar Heel official track and field season ended — a season marked with victories and records that will be remembered for years to come.

2024 Outdoor Track and Field National Championship

Parker Wolfe is a national champion. He won the 5,000m national championship at the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Championships with a time of 13:54.43 in Eugene, Oregon, at historic Hayward Field. He is the first ACC male runner to ever win the 5,000m and the first Tar Heel to win a men's national event title since 2007. Wolfe finished as runner-up to Northern Arizona's Nico Young at the 2024 NCAA Indoor Championships in both the 3,000m and 5,000m. This time, the story was flipped, with Wolfe finishing first and Young behind him in second.

The Tar Heels secured five All-America honors at the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Championships.Along with his first national championship, Parker Wolfe achieved his eighth All-America finish in his three-year career. Ethan Strand, Alex Phillip, Craig Saddler, and Makayla Paige all achieved Second Team All-America honors.

Strand advanced to the final of the 1,500m, finishing 9th with a time of 3:40.90. In the men's 10,000m final, Phillip was in the mix with two laps to go but got tripped up by another athlete. Despite this, Phillip got up and kept running, finishing 12th with a time of 28:21.16.

ACC Achievements

The Tar Heels fell short of completing the sweep of winning the cross country, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field championships, finishing third in outdoor. It was still the best finish at the ACC Outdoor Championships since 2014 and saw three Tar Heels capture ACC Championships. Parker Wolfe won both the 5,000m and 10,000m. Ethan Strand and Craig Saddler II both repeated their 2023 championships, with Strand winning the 1,500m and Saddler II the 400m hurdles.

Makayla Paige won a silver medal in the 800m, while Paul Signorelli took home bronze in the pole vault. Alex Phillip took home silver in the 5,000m and bronze in the 10,000m.

Spencer Young (javelin), Ben Finger (pole vault), Bryce Kazamier (javelin), Sam Corley (decathlon), Max Stakun-Pickering (decathlon), Spencer Williams (shot put), Blaise Atkinson (110m hurdles), and Ethan Strand (5,000m) all earned Second Team All-ACC honors with their championship performances.

The postseason award season saw Parker Wolfe become the first ACC athlete ever to win Cross Country, Indoor Track, and Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year in the same academic year. Wolfe also captured ACC Outdoor Track and Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year, while 32 total Tar Heels earned their place on the All-ACC Academic Team.

Olympic Trials

The Tar Heels had seven current and former athletes compete in the Olympic Trials.

Parker Wolfe and alum Madison Wiltrout highlighted the group, securing bronze—Wolfe in the 5,000m and Wiltrout in the javelin. However, both will not compete in Paris due to Olympic standard and world ranking requirements.

Ethan Strand was another highlight, being one of two collegiate runners to advance to the 1,500m finals. Meanwhile, across the pond, his teammate Craig Saddler also advanced to the finals of the Great Britain Olympic Trials.

The other four Tar Heels include alums Daniel McArthur (2017-2022) and Jill Shippee (2018-2022), as well as current team members Alex Phillip and Makayla Paige. All four hold the school record in their respective events.

McArthur in the shot put and Shippee in the hammer throw failed to advance to the semifinals. The former DIII star turned graduate transfer and lynchpin in the Tar Heels' cross country and indoor track and field ACC championships, Alex Phillip, finished 14th in the 10,000m final. Paige advanced to the semifinals in the 800m but was unable to continue to the finals.

School Records Broken

With the dust settled, three new school records were broken during the 2024 outdoor track and field season. Makayla Paige now holds the women's 800m record with a time of 2:00.97. After knocking on the door of the indoor 800m record all season, she finally broke through at the Wake Forest Invitational to write her own name atop the record book.

Alex Phillip's victory at the Bryan Clay Invitational against the nation's best 10,000m runners set a school record of 27:51, taking the national lead in time—it is still the fastest time this year in a college race. This secured his spot in the Olympic Trials.

After breaking four school records during the indoor season, Parker Wolfe didn't break his first school record in the outdoor season until the 5,000m ACC Championship, where he won with a time of 13:19.38, also setting a meet record. However, that record was short-lived, as Wolfe's final run of the season in the finals of the Olympic qualifiers saw him finish with a time of 13:10.75.

A Season of Winners

The 2024 outdoor track Tar Heels won 24 events, claimed by 17 different athletes. The team was led by Parker Wolfe's four wins, including three in the postseason. Ethan Strand, Craig Sadler, Sydney Banks, and Bryce Kazmier all won two events each. The Tar Heels secured seven event wins at the Charlotte Invitational, six at the Phoenix Invitational, and four at the ACC Championship.

Two highlight wins of the regular season include Ethan Strand's win in the 1500m at the Duke Invitational set the Duke facility record with a time of 3:35.60, securing him a spot in the US Olympic Trials. Also, Will Coogan's victory in the historic Penn Relay 5,000m was remarkable, especially after missing a full year due to a car accident. His comeback to win on one of collegiate track's biggest stages was inspirational.

The Future

In May, Head Coach Chris Miltenberg signed a three-year extension that will keep him in Chapel Hill through the 2026-2027 season. He'll bring back several key pieces that helped the men's cross country team win their first ACC championship since 1985 and the men's indoor track and field team win their first ACC championship since 1996. With incoming freshmen and transfers, the 2024-2025 year promises to be one of the best in school history for the men's program, which was ranked the 5th best program in the country this past year.

University of North Carolina Athletics

Players Mentioned

Blaise Atkinson

Sydney Banks

Will Coogan

Sam Corley

Ben Finger

Makayla Paige

Alex Phillip

Craig Saddler II

Paul Signorelli

Max Stakun-Pickering

Ethan Strand

Spencer Williams

Madison Wiltrout

Parker Wolfe

Spencer Young

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