NC State track and field made the trip to Lynchburg, Virginia, and showed out in the Liberty Open, an indoor track and field event.
On the women’s side, NC State impressed in the mile invite, with sophomore Bethany Michalak taking first place. Her time of 4:35.91 is the ninth-best mark among Division I athletes and broke the course record.
Finishing just behind Michalak, junior Kate Putman clocked in at 4:36.97 — the 10th-best mile for a Division I runner. Michalak and Putman’s times were two of the top in program history, ranking fifth and eighth, respectively.
The Wolfpack filled much of the rest of the top ten, taking the third, fifth, sixth, seventh and tenth place finishes. Graduate Brooke Rauber’s third-place finish of 4:42.57 led the way as NC State dominated the rest of the field.
In the women’s 1000-meter invite, the Wolfpack earned five of the top seven finishes. Putman took third place with a 2:46.32 finish, while Michalak clocked in at 2:47.69, good for fourth. Rauber rounded out the top five with a 2:49.05 mark. The trio’s times all placed in the top-seven times in program history.
In the field events, sophomore Mariama Hunt won the women’s triple jump, going 12.30 meters — the ninth-best jump in program history. Meanwhile in the long jump, senior Elyssia Fisher earned second place in the long jump, traveling 5.97 meters. The jump is the tenth-longest ever for the Wolfpack.
The Pack also picked up a strong showing in the high jump. With the three athletes tying for third, sophomore Audrey Jenkins, junior McKenna Moritz and sophomore Kirstin Smalls all went up 1.66 meters.
The Wolfpack also showed out on the men’s side. In the men’s mile invite, the Pack took first place. Senior Jimmy Mullarkey paced the field with a time of 4:05.26, while freshman Jack Anstrom earned the fourth-best spot by running a 4:08.84 mile.
Junior Elliott McArthur turned in a second-place finish in the men’s 1000-meter race, clocking in at 2:23.81. The time is the second-best in Wolfpack history. Sophomore Noah Valyo and junior Luke Wiley rounded out the top five with fourth and fifth-place finishes, respectively.
Finishing fifth in the men’s weight throw, junior Tony Taylor II posted an 18.19-meter throw. Then in the shot put, Taylor II earned eleventh place with a 13.07 throw.
Sophomore Christian Hackett earned second place in the men’s high jump at 2.05 meters. Junior Ryan John also took second place in the triple jump, going 15.55 meters. Finally, in the long jump, sophomore Ryan Farness jumped 6.98 meters in the long jump for a fourth-place finish.
Next up, NC State will compete at the Bob Pollock Meet at Clemson and the Brant Tolsma Elite Invite at Liberty. Both events are scheduled for Friday, Jan. 30, through Saturday, Jan. 31.
