University of North Carolina Athletics
Three More Tar Heels Advance to NCAA Outdoor Championships
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of North Carolina track and field teams wrapped up their second day of competition at the NCAA East Preliminary Round in Lexington, Kentucky Friday evening. Three more Tar Heels – RJ Alowonle, Kenny Selmon and Ceo Ways – punched their tickets to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon with top-nine finishes on the day.
Alowonle and Selmon advance to the NCAA semifinals in the 400-meter hurdles for the third time in both of their careers. The top-seeded and ACC Champion Selmon, who still has the fastest 400m hurdles time in the NCAA at 48.76, finished second in his heat and third overall in a time of 49.63. Alowonle finished third in his heat and sixth overall with a season-best time of 50.21. Alowonle finished fifth in 2014 and 20th in 2015 at the Outdoor Championships. Selmon returns one year after finishing third in 2016. He also finished 12th in 2015.
“We felt like they were capable of doing it, but we simply had to get it done, and those guys ran excellent races,” Head Coach Harlis Meaders said. “Both of them had great competition, and both held their composure and competed really well. I'm excited to see those guys returning to Eugene.”
Alowonle will be looking to best his sophomore-year performance at the Outdoor Championships. Selmon will be after a national title.
In what has been only his second meet of the season, Ways advances to the Outdoor Championships for the third year in a row two weeks after winning the 400-meter ACC title for the second straight year. He finished fifth in his heat, but ninth overall, in the 400m with a time of 45.74. Ways was All-America in the 400m in 2015 when he placed seventh at the Outdoor Championships; he finished 20th in 2016.
“We were happy to see Ceo advance in the men's quarter running 45 seconds again," Coach Meaders said. "Again, it's still early in the season for him. This is his second meet of the year, and he had some excellent competition and finished well, good enough to advance on to Eugene. So we're excited about having him there.”
Alowonle, Selmon and Ways will head to Eugene with Anna Eaton, who punched her ticket to the Outdoor Championships on Thursday after placing eighth in the pole vault.
Daniel McArthur, the second-highest ranked true freshman in the nation in shot put by only 1.5 inches, threw with an injured hand Friday and just didn't have enough to advance on to Eugene. He was seeded 10th, but finished 27th with a throw of 17.55m (57-7) a throw well short of his personal best 19.11m (62-8½). The talented freshman already holds second place in the UNC record book, so look for him to be right back in the thick of competition in 2018.
“It was a fantastic season for a freshman moving up the UNC record list, being fourth at the ACC Championships,” Coach Meaders said. “I really couldn't have asked much more. He went into the meet today with a sprained hand and competed valiantly, but just didn't have enough to get through.”
The seventh-seeded Nicole Greene also bowed out short of qualifying for Eugene, finishing 23rd after only jumping 1.74m (5-8½). The sophomore is a two-time NCAA Indoor All-American in high jump with a personal record of 1.87m (6-1½). She will most certainly be back.
“Nicole's been a role model for what we want from our kids – terrific student, team leader and a great competitor,” Coach Meaders said. “Unfortunately she won't be able to advance to Eugene, but we will keep our eyes on the next prize, and that will be the USA Senior Championships in Sacramento. So hopefully we will be able to get out there and have a great meet there.”
Carolina will close out the East Preliminary Round on Saturday hoping to see a few more Tar Heels punch their tickets to Eugene with five individuals and one relay team in action. Alexis Gannon and Darryl Shaw will compete in the triple jump, Mark Derrick and Morgan Ilse will compete in the 5,000 meters, Sarah Howard will compete in the shot put and the men's 4x400-meter relay will round out the weekend.
“We're looking to add some more to the entourage,” Coach Meaders said. “We think we're fully capable of advancing some more athletes to take a stronger contingency out to Eugene. Overall it's been about what we expected, some ups and downs, but I'm really proud of the kids. Really happy of the work that the assistant coaches have put in to help us get to this point. So we're looking to close out with some more big performances tomorrow.”
TAR HEEL SATURDAY PARTICIPANTS
Mark Derrick – 5,000m, 10,000m
The redshirt senior is looking to qualify for his first trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships after running a season-best 13:57.68 in the 5,000 at the Virginia Challenge. As the 15-seed in the 10,000m on Thursday, Derrick wasn't at 100 percent heath and finished 42nd in 31:30.66, well below his personal best of 29:12.27. Seeded 12th in the NCAA East Preliminaries in 2016 in the 5,000m, Derrick narrowly missed qualifying for the Outdoor Championships after placing 15th. Derrick is the only Tar Heel competing in two solo events and is seeded 15th in the 5,000m as well.
WHEN TO WATCH
5,000m – Saturday, 8:45 p.m. (Quarterfinal – Heat 2)
Alexis Gannon – Triple Jump
Gannon jumped her personal best of 41-11½ (12.79m) in the triple jump at the Tennessee Relays. She is seeded 29th heading into the meet this weekend one year after finishing 29th as the 40th seed in the triple jump at the NCAA East Preliminary Round in 2016.
WHEN TO WATCH
Saturday, 6 p.m. (First Round – Flight 2)
Sarah Howard – Shot Put
After not competing in the outdoor season in 2016, Howard, one of the best throwers in Carolina History, is looking to advance to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in shot put for the third time. She placed 14th in 2015 and 18th in 2014 at the Outdoor Championships. Howard threw a personal best of 55-11 (17.04m) at the Tennessee Relays, which is second in outdoor shot put in Carolina History and has her seeded ninth heading into this weekend.
WHEN TO WATCH
Saturday, 6 p.m. (First Round – Flight 4)
Morgan Ilse – 5,000m
Ilse has qualified for the NCAA East Preliminary Round in her first year of 5,000m competition. She set her personal best of 16:21.18 at the Virginia Challenge and is seeded 35th heading into the weekend.
WHEN TO WATCH
Saturday, 8:05 p.m. (Quarterfinal – Heat 1)
Darryl Shaw – Triple Jump
Shaw had the best performance of his career in the triple jump at the ACC Championships, finishing third with a personal-best jump of 51' 8.5” (15.76m). In his first time competing at the NCAA East Preliminary Round, Shaw is seeded 24th hoping to have another solid performance to finish the season.
WHEN TO WATCH
Saturday, 3:00 p.m. (First Round – Flight 3)
Men's 4x400-Meter Relay
Kwame Donyinah will join RJ Alowonle, Ceo Ways and Kenny Selmon to represent Carolina in the 4x400m relay at the NCAA East Preliminary Round. This will be the eighth year in a row a Tar Heel men's 4x400m relay competes at the East Preliminary. This year's team is seeded seventh with a time of 3:04.27, which they clocked to place second at the ACC Championships. Last year's relay finished 10th at the regional to advance to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships where they finished 23rd.
WHEN TO WATCH
Saturday, 9:45 p.m. (Quarterfinal – Heat 2)
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
Saturday Stream (May 27, 6 p.m. EDT): WatchESPN
Meet Info & Results: NCAA Championship Central
Twitter: @UNCTrack_Field
Instagram: @tarheeltrack
Snapchat: @tarheeltrackxc
Facebook: @UncTrackField
Follow along on Twitter for up-to-the-minute updates of the Tar Heels' performances as they occur. A recap of results will be posted on GoHeels.com following the conclusion of each day of competition.