Sophomore Jonathan Addison leaps into the sand pit during his long jump at the Raleigh Relays on March 28. Addison won the individual title in men’s long jump at the ACC Championships Thursday, jumping a distance of 7.62 meters, which gave N.C. State its first individual title in men’s long jump in seven years. " />
Joseph Phillips/Technician
Sophomore Jonathan Addison leaps into the sand pit during his long jump at the Raleigh Relays on March 28. Addison won the individual title in men’s long jump at the ACC Championships Thursday, jumping a distance of 7.62 meters, which gave N.C. State its first individual title in men’s long jump in seven years.
Two N.C. State athletes, senior Tremanisha Taylor and junior Jonathan Addison, brought home gold medals for the Wolfpack at the ACC Outdoor Track & Field Championships this weekend in Chapel Hill.
The State women’s team recorded a strong performance in the three-day event, finishing fifth in the field of 15. The Pack combined for a score of 73, just four points behind fourth-place Duke. Florida State took the team competition with a score of 111.
Taylor had an incredible weekend for State, asserting her dominance in the women’s shot put once again. The Henderson, N.C. native crushed her opponents, throwing a distance of 16.47 meters – 33 centimeters ahead of second place. To put that in perspective, the second and third place throws were separated by a mere two centimeters.
“The women’s team showed great competitive balance,” head coach Rollie Geiger said. “We were second for a long time on the final day.”
With the first-place finish, Taylor earned her fourth All-ACC selection. Having also taken home gold at the 2013 ACC Indoor Championships, the junior became the first member of the Wolfpack to win back to back ACC Championships in women’s shot put since former State thrower Lawanda Henry in 2009 and 2010.
Taylor also finished fourth in women’s discus, an event for which she holds the NCSU record.
“Tremanisha was great winning the shot put then coming back and finishing right there in the discus,” Geiger said.
Redshirt junior SeQuoia Watkins finished just ahead of Taylor in the competition, taking home bronze for the second straight year.
Sophomore Alexis Perry also had a good weekend, winning two silver medals over the course of the three day competition. On Thursday, the Durham native snagged her first outdoor All-ACC selection with a second-place finish in women’s long jump. Perry’s jump of 6.31 meters was just three centimeters behind that of first place.
Perry followed up her strong Thursday with an equally impressive Saturday. The sophomore ran the 100-meter hurdles in 13.24, which was good enough for second place behind Notre Dame’s junior Jade Barber and an All-ACC selection. With the All-ACC honor, Perry became the only member of the Wolfpack to earn four such accolades in the 2014 season.
The State men’s team struggled over the weekend, finishing 10th as a team over the course of the Championships. However, the men managed to put together some impressive individual performances, including four top-three finishes.
Addison had the most impressive finish, winning the first gold medal of his collegiate career in the men’s long jump. The Raleigh native recorded best jump of 7.62 meters, which left him tied with two other competitors for the top spot in the competition. For the tie-breaker, the judges looked at the competitors’ second-best jump, which belonged to Addison at 7.56 meters.
“Addison was very deserving in the long jump,” Geiger said. “He has performed great for us all year.”
With the win, Addison became the first member of the Pack to claim an ACC title in the men’s long jump in seven years.
As usual, distance running was a strength for the Pack men. Redshirt senior Andrew Colley and redshirt junior Graham Crawford both earned silver medals and All-ACC honors.
“Both ran great races it just didn’t fall their way,” Geiger said.
On Thursday, Colley completed the 10,000-meter run in 29:11.08, less than a second behind first place. The All-ACC honor was the fourth of Colley’s decorated career and his first in the 10,000-meter.
Crawford piggy-backed Colley’s performance with a second-place finish of his own in the men’s 1,500-meter. Like Colley, Crawford was less than a second outside of first place, recording a time of 3:50.74. Unlike Colley, however, the finish gave Crawford the first silver medal of his career.
The Pack’s outdoor season will continue on April 24, as the team will travel to Philadelphia, Penn. to take part in the Penn Relays.