Championship Page | Live Results | Schedule | Heat Sheets | Field Guide | @ACCTrackField
Florida State Men and Women Sweep ACC Team Titles
CLEMSON, S.C. (theACC.com) – The Clemson Indoor Track and Field Complex looks a great deal different today than it did four years ago. But the end result of the 2018 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships looked much the same, and that suited Florida State and head coach Bob Braman just fine.
The Seminoles swept both the men’s and women’s ACC Indoor Track and Field titles with strong finishes during Saturday’s closing session. The FSU men received a solid effort in both sprints and field events to hold off defending champion Virginia Tech, while the sprinters led the charge for the Seminole women, who blazed to the top of the standings on Saturday.
The Florida State men placed first with 111 team points, while Virginia Tech followed with 107. Clemson (76 points), Syracuse (62) and NC State (52) rounded out the top five.
Florida State’s women finished with 91 points, and Virginia Tech – which also put together a strong finish – followed with 81. Louisville and Clemson followed with 73 points each, and North Carolina was fifth with 61.
“Everyone sold out, everyone put their heart and soul into this, and look what happened,” said Florida State senior Austin Droogsma, who earned 10 key team points with his gold medal throw in the shot put. “We’ve got two trophies. And now we have to keep it going.”
It marks the sixth time in ACC history that one school has swept both the men’s and women’s ACC Indoor titles in the same year, but the first since the Seminoles did so at Clemson’s then-unbanked venue four years ago.
“I don’t know if I can explain how it happened, particularly on the women’s side,” Braman said. “I had (predicted) us with 58 team points or something like that, and we got 91. It’s amazing. But we have some really talented young freshmen, not only on the women’s side but also the men. They just came in and competed event by event. They each just tried to do their jobs, and then we started to get some momentum.”
The ACC men’s indoor championship is FSU’s 11th and the ninth under Braman. All three of the Seminoles’ women’s indoor titles have come on Braman’s watch.
Florida State joined Clemson (1992), North Carolina (1995 and 1996) and two past FSU teams (2009 and 2014) as double-ACC Championship winners. Saturday also marked the first time since 2014 that either FSU squad had claimed the conference indoor championship.
Syracuse distance runner Justyn Knight, who captured gold medals in both the 3K and 5K races for the third consecutive season, earned Men’s Most Valuable Player honors after sharing being Co-MVP at last year’s meet at Notre Dame. Florida State triple/long jumper Armani Wallace was the Men’s Field MVP after earning co-honors at the 2017 ACC Outdoor Track and Field Championship in Atlanta.
Freshman sprinter Ka’Tia Seymour, who played a big role in the Seminoles Saturday surge, earned Women’s Track MVP. Louisville thrower Emmonnie Henderson, who placed first in the shot put for the third consecutive year and placed third in the weight throw, took honors in women’s field.
Each of the top three finishers in each ACC Championship individual event earn first-team All-ACC honors. Those placing fourth through sixth earn second-team All-ACC. Members of each winning relay team are named first-team All-ACC, while the members of teams finishing second and third are second-team all-conference.
Next up for ACC teams and student-athletes are the 2018 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, which are scheduled for March 9-10 at College Station, Texas.
“We have a chance to make some noise, and do some top-10 damage,” Braman said. “And I think you will see Virginia Tech doing that, and potentially Clemson doing that. You’ll see Syracuse doing that with Justyn Knight. We should have some good representation in there, wearing ‘The ACC’ on their chests.”
A capsule look at Saturday’s action by event:
Women’s Shot Put
Louisville senior Emmonnie Henderson opened the closing day of the 2018 ACC Indoor Track and Field Championship in a familiar spot – the gold medal position of the podium. Henderson delivered a personal best shot put throw of 18.14 (59-6.25) on her final attempt to earn the gold medal for the third consecutive year. Henderson’ throw currently ranks second nationally. Florida State seniors claimed the next two podium spots with personal bests of their own. Gleneve Grange took the silver with a throw of 17.19n (56-4.75), while Ieva Zarankaite took the bronze at 15.97m (52-4.75).
Henderson has earned six consecutive shot put trophies in ACC Track and Field – three in indoor competition and four outdoors.
Women’s 60m Hurdles
The battle of elite women’s 60m hurdles went to Georgia Tech junior Jeanine Williams, who led the way at 8.04. Florida State sophomore Cortney Jones followed at 8.05, and Miami freshman Tiara McMinn took the bronze with a time of 8.17.
Men’s 60m Hurdles
Florida State’s Trey Cunningham enhanced the Seminoles’ first-place team standing by sprinting to a winning time of 7.70 in the men’s hurdles. Syracuse junior Matt Moore followed at 7.74, and Clemson senior Kirk Lewis took the bronze in 7.79.
Men’s Triple Jump
Home crowd favorite Jeremiah Green of Clemson took the gold in the triple jump, placing first with a leap of 16.39m (53-9.25). Green placed ahead of defending champion Jordan Scott of Virginia (16.35m/53-7.75) and Armani Wallace of Florida State (16.33m/53-7). All three bettered the previous Clemson facility record of 16.23 meters.
Women’s Mile
Notre Dame senior Jessica Harris remained a model of consistency as she held off Clemson’s Grace Barnett and successfully defended her ACC women’s mile title. After running strong legs in Thursday night’s DMR and in Friday’s qualifying, Harris took the gold Saturday with a time of 4:38.59. Harris placed ahead of the hard-charging Barnett who came on strong the finish for a silver medal time of 4:38.51. Boston College’s Paige Duca took the bronze at 4:44.34.
Men’s Mile
Virginia Tech’s Vincent Ciattei successfully defended his ACC men’s mile championship, and teammate Diego Zarate took the silver as the defending champion Hokies began what they hope will be a steady rise in the team standings. Ciattei checked in with a gold medal time of 4:03.08. Zarate followed at 4:04.18, and Notre Dame’s Jacob Dumford staged a strong finish to take the bronze with a time of 4:04.47.
Women’s 400 Meters
Pitt senior Desiree Garland posted a first-heat time of 53.16, and it held up for the gold medal in Saturday’s women’s 400m final. Duke senior Madeline Price followed at 52.27, and Clemson’s Olivia James took the bronze medal with a time of 53.35.
Men’s 400 Meters
Clemson teammates Jeffrey Green and Cordell Lamb staged a blazing duel in the first heat of the men’s 400 meters, and it earned the gold and silver medals. Green checked in with a winning time of 45.82, and Lamb followed at 46.04. Duke senior Steven Solomon – who set the ACC overall and Championship record with his time of 45.44 in Friday’s qualifying – took the bronze in 46.16. Seven of the eight of Saturday’s runners in the finals – the exception being Solomon – ran personal best times in Saturday’s meet.
Women’s 60 Meters
Florida State took two of the top three places in an air-tight sprint to the 60 meter finish. The Seminoles’ freshman Jayla Kirkland earned gold medal at 7.24, a fraction ahead of classmate Ka’Tia Seymour, who posted the same time. Clemson’s Rebekah Smith followed at 7.27, and FSU’s Shauna Helps took fourth 7.28. The Seminoles move atop the women’s board, one point ahead of Louisville, and currently lead both the men’s and women’s standings.
Men’s 60 Meters
Similar to the women’s 60 meters earlier, the men’s race came down to fractions. And once again, Florida State claimed the top two spots. Edward Clarke took the gold at 6.64, just ahead of teammate Andre Ewers, who was officially credited with the same time. NC State sophomore Cravont Charleston took the bronze with a time of 6.68.
Women’s 800 Meters
Virginia Tech’s Rachel Pocratsky – ranked among the nation’s top six in three middle distance events – picked up the gold medal with a winning time of 2:03.17 in the women’s 800. This marks the fifth consecutive year that a Hokie has claimed the 800m women’s event. Clemson took the next two spots, with Kamryn McIntosh checking in with a silver medal time of 2:03.59, and Fellan Ferguson taking the bronze a fraction behind.
Men’s 800 Meters
Neil Gourley made it a Virginia Tech sweep in this year’s ACC Championship 800 meters, taking the gold medal in 1:47.04. Gourley finished strong to best Clemson’s John Lewis, who finished in 1:47.14. Wake Forest’s Robert Heppenstall took the bronze in 1:47.19.
Men’s Pole Vault
Led by gold medalist Deakin Volz, Virginia Tech took the top three positions in the men’s pole vault and moved to within four points of first-place Florida State in the overall team standings. Volz led with a season-best mark of 5.50 meters (18-0.5). Two-time champion Torben Laidig had the same mark, but placed second on progressions. Freshman Joel Benitez took the bronze medal at 5.10m (16-8.75).
Women’s 200 Meters
With one silver medal already in tow, Florida State freshman Ka’Tia Seymour added a gold with a first-place run of 22.85 that was just shy of the championship record set of 22.83 set last year by Miami’s Shakima Wimbley and currently ranks second in the nation. The Seminoles’ Shauna Helps enhanced her team’s overall scoring lead with a silver medal time of 23.02. Clemson’s Rebekah Smith took third at 23.30.
Men’s 200 Meters
Andre Ewers blazed to another Florida State gold medal in the men’s 200 meters with a time of 20.61 that ranks sixth-best nationally. Clemson’s Cordell Lamb took the silver medal at 20.74, and NC State’s Dylan Peebles was third at 20.96.
Men’s Shot Put
With Virginia Tech making a push to overtake Florida State in the men’s team standings, the Seminoles’ Austin Droogsma stepped up in a big way. Droogsma delivered a gold medal shot put throw of 20 meters (65-7.5) to take the gold medal and keep the Seminoles in front. Virginia junior Oghenakpobo Efekoro followed at 18.72m (61-5), while Miami’s Gian Ragonesi took the bronze at 18.28m (59-11.75). The Seminoles now sit in first with 111 team points, 21 ahead of second-place Virginia Tech’s total of 90.
Women’s 3000 Meters
NC State sophomore Elly Henes kept a steady pace en route to a gold medal time of 19:18.67, marking the second consecutive year that a Wolfpack woman has claimed the 3,000 meters. She placed ahead of Virginia Tech’s Sarah Edwards (19:18.99) and Syracuse’s Paige Stoner (9:10.10).
Men’s 3000 Meters
Syracuse All-American Justyn Knight will end his indoor track and field collegiate career as an ACC Champion in three events. Less than 24 hours after claiming the men’s 5,000 meters for the third straight year, Knight took gold in the 3,000 meters for the third year in a row. Knight finished with a first-place run of 8:02.57, while teammate Aidan Tooker followed at 8:04.29. Tooker edged Virginia Tech’s Peter Seufer, who posted a bronze medal time of 8:04.63.
Women’s 4x400 Relay
The Clemson women closed on a strong note at home with a gold medal with an ACC Championship record time in the women’s 4x400 meters. Senior Olivia James, junior Kendra Clarke, freshman Kamryn McIntosh and senior Fellan Ferguson brought in a first-place time of 3:32.84. Duke took the silver medal at 3:33.64, and Miami the bronze at 3:35.23.
Women’s Triple Jump
Virginia Tech sophomore Eszter Bajnok wrapped up the day with the final individual gold medal of the 2015 ACC Championship, taking the women’s triple jump with a distance of 12.93m (42-5.25). Virginia junior Kelly McKee followed at 12.84m (42-1.5), and Duke junior Dominique Patton took the bronze at 12.72m (41-8.75).
Men’s 4x400 Relay
The Clemson men’s relay team also broke the program’s existing record to take the gold medal. The team of Cordell Lamb, Deonte Tolbert, John Lewis, and Jeffrey Green posted a time of 3:07.78 that bettered the Tigers’ 3:07.91 effort at last year’s championship. North Carolina took second place at 3:08.27, and Virginia Tech took third at 3:09.33