Outdoor Track & Field

ACC Outdoor Track & Field Championships Set for Exciting Finales

RALEIGH, N.C. (theACC.com) – Following a competitive and entertaining second day at the Atlantic Coast Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships that saw several meet and facility records fall, team titles hang very much in the balance heading into Saturday’s closing session.
 
ACC MEN’S STANDINGS
(9 of 21 events completed)
1. Virginia Tech 61.5
2. Notre Dame 51.5
3. Virginia 36
4. Florida State 35
5. North Carolina 32
6. NC State 30
7. Duke 29
8. Louisville 20.5
9. Miami 14
10. Pitt 12
10. Syracuse 12
12. Georgia Tech 5.5
13. Wake Forest 5
14. Boston College 3
15. Clemson 1
 
ACC WOMEN’S STANDINGS
(9 of 21 events completed)
1. Notre Dame 39
2. Virginia Tech 38
3. Florida State 37
4. Louisville 36.5
5. North Carolina 32.5
6. Virginia 31
7. Georgia Tech 29
8. Duke 27
8. Miami 27
10. NC State 20
11. Wake Forest 14
12. Clemson 11
13. Syracuse 8
14. Pitt 1
15. Boston College 0
 
ACC Network Extra will continue its coverage of the finals on Saturday. Shawn Kenney returns to handle play-by-play for the evening session and will be joined by veteran analyst Larry Rawson. Former Duke head coach Norm Ogilive will also be on hand as a color analyst.
 
Saturday’s live coverage will air from 2  p.m. until the meet’s conclusion on ACC Network Extra
 
 Other links of interest:

 Schedule of Events: http://theacc.co/2021ACCotf
ACC Weekly Release: http://theacc.co/ACCotf512
 
Make sure to follow @ACCTrackField on Twitter throughout the day for news and updates.
 
Saturday’s closing session will feature finals in 20 running events (10 men’s, 10 women’s) as well as the men’s and women’s high jump, and the men’s and women’s discus throw.
 
Please see Live results link for complete results of all of Friday’s final and preliminary events. The running preliminaries featured one interesting sidelight as Virginia senior Michaela Meyer qualified for Saturday’s 800-meter final with a time of 2:01.89 – breaking her own facility record of 2:02.20 she set earlier this spring during the Raleigh Relays.
 
A capsule look at Friday’s action:
 
WOMEN’S 3000m STEEPLECHASE
After entering Friday night’s race as the NC State record-holder in the women’ steeplechase, the Wolfpack’s Hannah Steelman more than lived up to her billing by claiming the ACC championship on her with a meet, school and facility record on her home track. The Wofford transfer checked in with a time of 9:43.08 to eclipse the previous ACC Championship record (9:50.42 by Syracuse’s Paige Stoner in 2018) by more than seven seconds. Steelman also topped her previous school record of 9:46.35 while posting the third-fastest time in the nation. Notre Dame took the next three spots behind Steelman on Friday night – Olivia Markezich (9:45.72), Annasophia Keller (9:56.88) and Lauren Sapone (9:58.64).
 
MEN’S 3000m STEEPLECHASE
Not to be outdone, Virginia Tech senior Fitsum Seyoum closed Friday’s session with a meet record, facility record and personal best time of 8:31.23 to take the gold medal in the men’s steeplechase. The fast track saw Duke’s Alex Miley finish just behind at 8:32.72, and Louisville’s Albert Kosgei took the bronze medal with a time of 8:34.26.
 
MEN’S SHOT PUT
In an event that featured personal bests by each of the top five, Virginia Tech sophomore Tyson Jones took the gold medal in dramatic fashion. After seeing two-time indoor shot put champion Daniel McArthur of North Carolina take the lead with an outdoor PB of 19.73 meters (64-8.75) on his final attempt, Jones countered with a heave of 19.75m (64-9.75) to win by a single inch. Notre Dame junior John Stefan took the bronze at 61-3.5 (18.68m).
 
MEN’S TRIPLE JUMP
Virginia sophomore Owayne Owens continued a stellar sophomore season with his winning triple jump of 15.97m (52-4.75). NC State freshman Chris Alexander followed at 15.75m (51-8.25) and Florida State junior Jacore Irving took the bronze medal at 15.72m (51-7). It was Owens’ second ACC title. He also won the triple jump at this year’s ACC Indoor Championships.
 
WOMEN’S JAVELIN
Florida State began Friday’s session by grabbing 18 quick points as junior Kelechi Nwanaga and freshman Sara Zabarino went 1-2 in the women’s javelin throw with a pair of personal bests. Nwanaga took the gold medal with a throw of 54.93 meters (180-2), while Zabarino had a top throw of 54.48m (178-9). North Carolina junior Madison Wiltrout was third at 52.98m (173-10).
 
WOMEN’S TRIPLE JUMP
Facing stiff competition from Georgia Tech veteran Bria Matthews, Florida State freshman Ruta Lasmane responded in the biggest of ways. Lasmane’s personal best jump of 14.20 meters (46-7.25) on her fifth attempt netted the gold medal while setting the ACC Championship and facility record. Matthews, a two-time ACC outdoors triple jump champion, settled for the silver medal despite a season-best mark of 13.61 meters (44-8). Virginia Tech senior Eszter Bajnok claimed the bronze medal with her season best 13.51m (44-4).
 
WOMEN’S SHOT PUT
Virginia Tech sophomore Essence Henderson’s personal best third-round throw of 17.23m (56-6.5) held up for the gold medal in Friday’s early-evening competition. Henderson claimed the ACC women’s shot put championship for the Hokies and the first since Samira Burkhardt’s win in 2011. Two more sophomores also delivered personal-best throws to take the silver and bronze as Miami’s Hannah Hall checked in at 16.66m (54-8) and Clemson’s Veronica Fraley at 16.46m (54-0).
 
MEN’S DECATHLON
Duke senior Evan Lee entered Friday’s competition leading the decathlon at the halfway point, and he proved a model of consistency as he nailed down the gold medal on the final day. The Penn transfer finished with a first-place finish in the pole vault while adding three second-place finishes and one third. Lee finished no lower than third place in any of the 10 events over a two-day period as he amassed a facility-record 7,300 points. Florida State freshman William Ott followed with 6,674 and bronze medalist James Holt of Virginia Tech tallied 6,132. Lee became the fourth Blue Devil in the past seven meets to claim the ACC decathlon gold medal and the first since Daniel Golubovic in 2017.
 
WOMEN’S HEPTATHLON
Miami senior Michelle Atherley finished strong in becoming the third woman in league history to claim three consecutive ACC heptathlon gold medals, finishing with a facility-record 6,019 points.
Atherley’s closing flurry included a career-best throw of 37.86 meters (124-2) in the javelin, the sixth of the heptathlon’s seven events. The throw put Atherley ahead of silver medalist Erin Marsh of Duke, and Atherley sealed the championship with a second-place finish behind Notre Dame’s Jadin O’Brien in the 800 meters. Atherley joined North Carolina’s Nicky Hudson (1990-92) and Florida State’s Chinette Johnson (1998-2000) as a three-time heptathlon champion. Duke’s Marsh finished with a personal-best 5,903 points in this year’s heptathlon competition, and Notre Dame’s O’Brien took the bronze with 5,846.