This past week, seven athletes from the North Carolina track and field team traveled to Eugene, Ore., to compete in the NCAA Outdoor Championships held at Hayward Field.
What happened?
Kicking off the meet for the Tar Heels was senior James Joycey, who competed in the men’s hammer throw event on Wednesday.
To qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships, Joycey threw a personal best of 227-4 (69.29m) in the NCAA East Preliminary Round. This time around, he received a mark of 221-2 (67.43m) and finished in fifteenth place.
Just hours later, graduate Jesse Hunt ran in the men’s 1,500 meters semifinal heat against 23 other competitors. Hunt did not qualify for the final heat of this event, earning an 18th-place finish with a time of 3:42.28.
On day two, the women of the North Carolina track and field team started competition in their respective events.
The first event of the day was women’s hammer throw, with accomplished graduate thrower Jill Shippee stepping into the circle. In the NCAA East Preliminary Round, Shippee set yet another ACC record to beat her previous mark of 69.76 meters with a heave of 70.07 meters.
To finish out her career as a Tar Heel, Shippee placed ninth place out of 24 NCAA opponents with a throw of 224-3 (68.36m).
The next athlete to compete for UNC was sophomore Sasha Neglia, who ran in the 3,000-meter steeplechase semifinal heat and finished 20th with a time of 10:15.44, which did not qualify her for the final heat.
