Most teams are used to competing as a whole, at the same time and in the same place. But in track and field, that is not always the case.
With all but the throwers from the North Carolina men’s track and field team away at the Navy Wesley A. Brown Invitational in Annapolis, Md., the rest of the Tar Heels stayed home Friday and Saturday to compete against eight local schools in the two-day UNC Invitational.
Senior Elizabeth Mott led the way for the Tar Heels, taking first in the women’s 400-meter and 200-meter and was a member of the winning 4-by-400 relay team.
UNC rounded out the weekend with seven victories in total.
Senior Danielle Brock achieved the only win for the Tar Heels in the first day’s events, finishing the women’s 60-meter hurdles in a time of 8.52 seconds.
In spite of a narrower field of competition compared to UNC’s home meet earlier this month, Brock said she approaches the smaller meets with the same mindset and concentration.
“When it is a bigger meet, you think, ‘OK, it’s a bigger stage.’ You have to prepare harder,” she said. “But at the same time, when it is a smaller meet, you still have to have that same mentality.”
Also on the track, Marisa Dobbins won the women’s 800 meter with a time of 2:13.55.
In field events, Sandi Morris cleared 13 feet, 7 1/4 inches, good for the seventh best height in the NCAA this year. Tristine Johnson’s 39 feet, 11 1/4 inch leap in the triple jump gave her a victory as well.
Chris DiLorenzo and Kwabena Keene took second and third place, respectively, in the men’s shot put with throws of 55-feet, 5 inches and 54 feet, 6 3/4 inches.
