University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Tiger Paw Invite Day 1
Ilse Breaks Indoor 5,000 UNC Record At Music City Challenge
February 9, 2018 | Track & Field
NASHVILLE, TN - North Carolina's Morgan Ilse broke the school record in the indoor 5,000 meters Friday, placing second in 16:16.77 at the Music City Challenge.
Just six days removed from running 9:12.17 in the Camel City Elite 3,000 meters to take fourth place in school history in the event, Ilse, the junior out of Dunwoody, Ga., was fatigued going into the race. However, the opportunity to run on Vanderbilt's 300-meter oversized track against quality competition was too good to pass up.
"She ran really tough," distance coach Mark VanAlstyne said. "We were concerned that last week's race and the opportunity to race this week were only six days apart and she was coming off such a high-level effort that we saw last week. You're always a little concerned if they're going to fully recover."
Senior Caroline Alcorta (Springfield, Va.) strategically paced the race over the first seven laps before dropping out due to pre-race sickness. Over the next three laps, Megan Cunningham of Missouri took a sizable lead and Ilse stuck with the trailing pack.
VanAlstyne could tell that Ilse didn't have the legs to lead the group and advised her to sit in behind Hannah Miller of SMU and Eden Meyer of North Florida. The decision paid off, as over the final laps Ilse was able to separate from Miller and Meyer for a seven-second cushion at the finish to claim second.
"She was gutsy," VanAlstyne said. "She closed well. All-in-all it was a good race, but we just need to get her recovered and get her ready to run at ACCs because I know she can go faster than she did tonight."
With two weeks until the ACC Indoor Track & Field Championships, VanAlstyne believes that with adequate recovery and preparation Ilse certain has the fitness for a time below 16:00:00.
"She is such a gamer on race day," VanAlstyne said. "I love the way she races, and she's going to continue to move up the rungs in the NCAA over these next two years."
For now, this time give Ilse the fifth-fastest time in the ACC, a top-25 time in the nation and, most importantly, the school record.
TIGER PAW INVITE HIGHLIGHTS
• Freshman Anna Keefer jumped 19-3 ½ (5.88 meters) in the long jump. It is the third-straight meet she has jumped over 19 feet. This jump matches the eighth best jump in the ACC.
• Freshman Lindsey Lanier ran a personal best 5:04.89 in the women's mile.
FOLLOWING SATURDAY'S ACTION
The Music City Invitational resumes Saturday at 10 a.m. CT. Natisha Dixon will be competing in the prelims of the women's 60-meter hurdles at 1 p.m., looking to qualify for the 2:40 p.m. finals. Erin Edmundson, Brodie Modini and Luke Peterson will compete in the mile - the women's heats begin at 2 p.m., with the men to follow at 2:20 p.m. Shortly after the mile, Cierra Dunston, McKinley McNeill and Jewel Christian will compete in the women's 400 meters at 3:10 p.m. Isaiah Palmer, Kenny Selmon, Ryan Saint-Germain, Jadon Johnson and Amari DeVaughn will then race in the men's 400 at 3:25 p.m. Blake Dodge will compete in the women's 800 at 3:40 p.m.
The day will conclude with the 4x400 squads looking to push their times into national qualifying range - the women's heats begin at 4:40 p.m., with the men to follow at 5 p.m.
The Tiger Paw Invite resumes at 11 a.m. ET. The Tar Heels will compete in the women's weight throw (11 a.m.), the men's triple jump (11 a.m.), the men's pole vault (12 p.m.), the women's triple jump (1:30 p.m.), the women's 800 meters (12 p.m.), the men's 800 meters (12:20 p.m.) and the men's 200 meters (1:20 p.m.).
Meet schedules, heat sheets and links to live results for both meets can be accessed at GoHeels.com.
Follow @unctrack_field on Twitter and Instagram for updates throughout the day. UNC Track & Field is also on Facebook. A recap of performances and results will be posted on GoHeels.com following the conclusion of competition.
Players Mentioned
