BLACKSBURG, Va. (theACC.com) – Trey Cunningham’s record-setting gem in the preliminaries of the men’s 60-meter hurdles and an ACC record by Virginia Tech women’s pole vaulter Rachel Baxter highlighted the second day of Atlantic Coast Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships competition Friday at Rector Field House.
Florida State's Cunningham delivered a blazing qualifying time of 7.40 to shatter his own ACC overall and meet record and now ranks second all-time behind the NCAA mark of 7.35 set by Florida’s Grant Holloway at the 2019 NCAA Indoor Championships.
Cunningham’s next shot at breaking that record comes in Saturday’s 1:50 p.m. final, where he will also attempt to become the first track and field athlete to claim five consecutive ACC titles in any event.
Baxter capped the evening by becoming only the fifth woman in ACC history – and the first from Virginia Tech – to claim an indoor gold medal four years in a row, and she did so in record-setting fashion. Baxter cleared 4.61 meters (15’1.5”), which ranks first nationally and topped the previous ACC mark of 4.60 meters set by Duke’s Megan Clark in 2016.
Six men’s events and seven women’s events were completed on Friday, including a meet-record women’s weight throw by Virginia Tech’s Rebecca Mammel and a facility record by Pitt’s Felix Wolter in the men’s heptathlon. It also proved an eventful day for Miami senior Isaiah Holmes, who claimed gold medals in both the men’s high jump and long jump.
The three-day Championships conclude Saturday with finals in eight men’s and women’s running events, in addition to the men’s and women’s shot put and triple jump, and the men’s pole vault. The field events are set to kick off the action at Rector Field House at noon. Running events begin at 1 p.m., with the 4x400 relays closing out the action around 5 p.m.
Host Virginia Tech led both the men’s and women’s team scoring through Friday:
MEN’S STANDINGS
6 of 17 events scored
1. Virginia Tech 34
2. Miami 31
3. Notre Dame 27
4. North Carolina 23
5. Florida State 20
6. Louisville 19
7. NC State 16
8. Pitt 15
8. Wake Forest 15
10. Clemson 11
11. Duke 9
12. Virginia 5
13. Syracuse 4
14. Georgia Tech 3
15. Boston College 2
WOMEN’S STANDINGS
7 of 17 events scored
1. Virginia Tech 47
2. NC State 40
3. Duke 33
4. Notre Dame 32.5
5. North Carolina 25.5
6. Louisville 24
7. Virginia 21
8. Miami 12
9. Wake Forest 10
10. Georgia Tech 9.5
11. Clemson 6.5
12. Boston College 4
12. Florida State 4
14. Syracuse 3
15. Pitt 1
BLACKSBURG, Va. (theACC.com) – Trey Cunningham’s record-setting gem in the preliminaries of the men’s 60-meter hurdle preliminaries and an ACC record by Virginia Tech women’s pole vaulter Rachel Baxter highlighted as the second day of Atlantic Coast Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships competition at Rector Field House.
Cunningham’s blazing qualifying time of 7.40 shattered his own ACC overall and meet record and ranks second all-time behind the NCAA record of 7.35 set by Florida’s Grant Holloway at the 2019 NCAA Indoor Championships.
Cunningham’s next shot at breaking that record comes in Saturday’s 1:50 p.m. final, where he will also attempt to become the first track and field athlete to claim five consecutive ACC titles in any event.
Baxter capped the evening by becoming only the fifth woman in ACC history – and the first from Virginia Tech – to claim the indoor gold medal in her event four years in a row, and she did so in record-setting fashion. Baxter cleared 4.61 meters (15’1.5”), a mark that ranks first nationally and topped the previous ACC mark of 4.60 meters set by Duke’s Megan Clark in 2016.
Six men’s events and seven women’s events were completed on Friday, including a meet-record women’s weight throw by Virginia Tech’s Rebecca Mammel and a facility record by Pitt’s Felix Wolter in the men’s heptathlon. It also proved an eventful day for Miami senior Isaiah Holmes, who claimed gold medals in both the men’s high jump and long jump.
The three-day Championships conclude Saturday with finals in eight men’s and women’s running events, in addition to the men’s and women’s shot put and triple jump, and the men’s pole vault. The field events are set to kick off the action at Rector Field House at noon. Running events begin at 1 p.m., with the 4x400 relays closing out the action around 5 p.m.
Host Virginia Tech led both the men’s and women’s team scoring through Friday:
MEN’S STANDINGS
6 of 17 events scored
1. Virginia Tech 34
2. Miami 31
3. Notre Dame 27
4. North Carolina 23
5. Florida State 20
6. Louisville 19
7. NC State 16
8. Pitt 15
8. Wake Forest 15
10. Clemson 11
11. Duke 9
12. Virginia 5
13. Syracuse 4
14. Georgia Tech 3
15. Boston College 2
WOMEN’S STANDINGS
7 of 17 events scored
1. Virginia Tech 47
2. NC State 40
3. Duke 33
4. Notre Dame 32.5
5. North Carolina 25.5
6. Louisville 24
7. Virginia 21
8. Miami 12
9. Wake Forest 10
10. Georgia Tech 9.5
11. Clemson 6.5
12. Boston College 4
12. Florida State 4
14. Syracuse 3
15. Pitt 1
A capsule look at Friday’s action:
Men’s High Jump
Holmes became the first ACC men’s high jump champion in Miami program history with a mark of 2.17 meters (7’1”). A pair of Louisville juniors claimed the next two spots on the podium with Luke Nichols earning the silver medal and Trey Allen the bronze.
Men’s Long Jump
Holmes made it a 20-point day later Friday evening as he edged defending champion and ACC-record holder Isaac Grimes for another first-place finish. Holmes won the event with a personal-best mark of 8.03 meters (26’4.25”). Grimes took the silver at 7.91 meters, and the Seminoles’ Jeremiah Davis grabbed third place with a jump of 7.79m.
Men’s Heptathlon
Wolter, the defending ACC heptathlon champion, left little to chance as he set a Rector Field House facility record with a personal best score of 5,979. Wolter won the long jump, high jump and 60-meter hurdles and did not finish below fourth in any of the heptathlon’s seven events. The silver and bronze medalists also registered personal best as Virginia Tech’s Jacob Spotswood scored 5,835 points, and Duke’s Gage Knight totaled 5,466.
Men’s Weight Throw
Clemson freshman Daniel Cope stepped up with a personal best throw of 22.28 meters (73’1.25”) to take home the gold medal. Virginia Tech senior Alexios Prodanas (22.12m) took second, and 2021 champion Kevin Arreaga of Miami (21.47m) claimed the bronze.
Men’s 5,000 Meters
Another meet record fell in the men’s 5K as Notre Dame’s Matthew Carmody’s 13:47.85 finish placed just ahead of teammate Josh Methner (13:48.07). NC State’s Ian Shanklin – who took the gold medal at the 2019 finals held at Rector Field House – placed third Friday night with a personal best time of 13:48.11
Women’s Weight Throw
Competing in a stacked field that included two past ACC champions in Notre Dame’s Rachel Tanczos and Miami’s Debbie Ajagbe, Virginia Tech’s Mammel registered a throw of 23.08 meters (75’8.75”) on her third attempt to set the ACC Championship record. Mammel topped the previous ACC meet mark of 22.55 meters set by Ajagbe in 2020. Virginia Tech freshman Sara Killinen took the silver medal with a throw of 22.21 meters, and North Carolina senior Jillian Shippee the bronze at 22.16 meters. The throws were personal bests for each of those competitors.
Women’s Pole Vault
Virginia Tech’s Baxter waged a spirited competition with Louisville’s Gabriela Leon before clearing the bar at 4.51 meters (14’9.5”) on her first attempt. Leon could not answer on her three ensuing tries, leaving Baxter as the meet champion for the fourth consecutive year. With Leon cheering her on, Baxter then cleared the bar at 4.56 meters and at 4.61 meters for the ACC record. Leon’s second-place finish of 4.46 meters stood as a personal best, and Virginia Tech junior Julia Fixsen took the bronze medal at 4.36 meters.
Women’s Long Jump
Four years after winning the ACC women’s long jump in the 2018 ACC Championship at Clemson, North Carolina’s Anna Keefer took home her second gold medal on Friday. Keefer delivered a personal best of 6.55 meters (21’6”) on her final attempt for a mark that ties for the sixth-best in the nation this season. Duke’s Erin Marsh took second place with her own personal best of 6.32 meters (20’9”), and Louisville freshman Synclair Savage took the bronze with her career-best 6.22 meters (20’5”). Keefer later placed second in qualifying for the finals in the women’s 200-meter dash, which will be run Saturday at 3 p.m.
Women’s 5,000 Meters
It was a 1-2 finish for NC State as freshman Katelyn Tuohy clocked in at 15:41.51, and junior Allie Hays followed at 15:51.79. Duke’s Michaela Reinhart took the bronze medal at 15:55.24, and Wolfpack freshman Gionna Quarzo finished at 16:15.67 to give NC State three of the top-four finishers.
Women’s High Jump
The women’s high jump closed out the long day, it proved worth the wait for Brianna Smith. The Duke freshman’s leap of 1.81 meters (5’11.25”) was a personal best and earned the gold medal in a tight competition that saw the top five finishers separated by 1¼ inches. Virginia’s Rebecca Hawkins was the silver medalist, and Wake Forest’s Emma Soderstrom took third.
ACC Network Extra will continue live stream and broadcast coverage Saturday beginning at 12:55 p.m., with Shawn Kenney again on play-by-play, former Duke head coach Norm Ogilvie serving as analyst and Katie George handling sideline reporting. The watch links are listed below. In addition, ACC Network will air a five-hour highlights/recap of the Championship on Sunday morning, beginning at 7 a.m.
ACCNX Watch Link for Saturday, 12:55 pm: https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=7e6b90f8-2490-4ea6-94eb-1948fe276e4b
Live Results:
https://theacc.co/22itfResults
Printable Schedule:
https://theacc.co/22ITFsked