North Carolina
Duke Relays
Carolina Finishes Triple-Meet Weekend On High Note
April 3, 2010 | Track & Field
April 3, 2010
DURHAM, N.C. - Parker Smith won the men's pole vault at the Duke Invitational, marking North Carolina's only first place nod in its triple-header weekend. The track and field program finished up competition on Saturday.
Smith cleared 16-8 3/4 to take first, a full eight inches ahead of teammate Scott Houston who brought in second place for Carolina at 16-0 3/4. Multis Daniel Keller and Chadd Pierce also pole vaulted with Keller reaching 15-3 and Pierce 14-1 1/4.
Kwabena Keene threw for a busy weekend with a fourth-place finish in the discus and a fifth-place finish in the shot put. For the discus throw, Keene threw 169-7 for a new personal best in the event. Joining him in the discus were fifth-place Emory Parsons at 163-0 and Mateo Sossah at 140-11.
Keene threw 54-0 1/2 in the shot put for fifth place. Chris DiLorenzo threw 53-5 1/2 to follow suit into sixth place while Kyle Goodman threw 50-10 3/4 for eighth. Matthew Villemain was the sole Tar Heel to compete in the long jump at the Duke Invitational. He reached 20-2 1/2.
Multis Sossah, Keller, Villemain and Pierce also tried their hands at the 110-meter hurdles. Sossah ran 14.89, Keller 14.94, Villemain 15.71 and Pierce 15.79 but none qualified for the final of the event.
Finishing at the men's events at the Duke Invitational were the 200 and 800. Reynaldo Radlin ran 22.43 in the 200 but did not place in the top eight. Five Carolina men raced the 800 with Jeremy Gerlach taking his heat and the highest finish for the team at 11th. Gerlach ran in 1:52.78 for a personal best, Andrew Rotz in 1:53.34, Adam Smith in 1:54.58, Michael Rollins in 1:55.30 and Alex Cremer in 1:57.32.
Chrishawn Williams lead the Carolina women at the Duke Invitational with her second-place finish in the long jump. Williams leaped 19-6 while Ariel Roberts leaped 18-2 1/2 and Alexandra Coppadge fouled in the same event.
Roberts took home a third-place nod in the high jump reaching 5-8. Briana Hudson joined Roberts in high jump but did not clear height.
Coppadge and Roberts finished the day with the 200 final and the 100-meter hurdles prelim. Coppadge ran 26.10 while Roberts ran 26.07 in the 200, missing a top-eight finish. In the 100 hurdles, Coppadge clocked 14.70 and Roberts 14.75 falling short of the final race.
Malai Walker competed in both the prelim and final for the women's 100 dash. Her 12.12 sprint took sixth in the prelim, leading to a 12.08 fifth-place finish in the final. In the 400, Zoey Russell placed third for her race of 56.55.
Competition was light for Carolina at both the Texas Relays and Florida Relays on the final day of those meets. In Austin, Texas, the men's triple jump saw Tar Heel Austin Davis snag sixth place for his jump of 52-even. Donte Nall also carded sixth place for his 7-0 1/2 high jump in Gainesville, Fla., finishing competition out of state.
The North Carolina track and field teams will next compete in their first home meet of the season on Saturday, April 10th at Belk Track and Fetzer Field. April 10th will be an exciting day in Chapel Hill with events happening in baseball, men's and women lacrosse and the spring football game. The public is invited to attend to join in what should prove a great day to be a Tar Heel.
Players Mentioned
