Saturday marked the end of the North Carolina track and field team’s indoor season, but coach Harlis Meaders wasn’t feeling nostalgic — he was looking ahead to a bright future.
The Tar Heels sent 11 athletes to the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Albuquerque, N.M. The men finished in a tie for 45th place; the women failed to register a point. For Meaders, though, the final meet of the season was more a launching pad than a culmination.
“We brought 11 kids, and for each of those kids it was their first time coming to an NCAA indoor championship, so there was a growing curve for us,” Meaders said. “We have to keep recruiting and developing the kids that we have, but I really feel like in the very near future we’re going to be one of the top 25 teams in the country.”
In just two seasons at the helm, Meaders has made large strides with the UNC track and field program, particularly on the men’s side. The men’s runner-up finish in the ACC championships was an improvement over last year’s fourth place.
One of the men’s team’s most promising events is the 4×400-meter relay, which was the highlight of this weekend’s indoor championships. The four-man team of R.J. Alowonle, Sean Sutton, Javonte Lipsey and Ceo Ways earned All-America honors with a fifth-place finish. Their season-best time of 3:06.49 was just 0.13 seconds slower than the UNC indoor record.
“We were a little disappointed because we were really close to breaking the indoor school record, but each of us are going to be back next year,” Alowonle said. “Hopefully, if we stay healthy, then we can break that next year.”
Another year of experience under their belts won’t hurt, either. With a wealth of young talent on both the men’s and women’s sides, the Tar Heels are looking to expand on this season’s improvements. Nine of the 11 UNC athletes who competed at the NCAA indoor championships this weekend will return next year.
“On the guys’ side, this indoor season was really big,” Alowonle said. “With how we competed at ACCs, finishing second, I think the guys are really starting to believe that we can compete with these people. We’re running faster, going farther, and jumping farther than we’ve ever run before.”
On the women’s side, sophomore Lizzy Whelan and junior Annie LeHardy stood out in Albuquerque, both competing in the mile semifinals. Whelan advanced to the final, where she finished 10th.
