The NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Regional Championships, which took place May 29–May 31, brought disappointment for N.C. State, as the Wolfpack saw only three of its 17 participants qualify for the NCAA Nationals Championships in Eugene, Ore. June 11.
In a competition where the top 12 athletes in each event advanced to Nationals, State boasted six competitors ranked in the top 12 in the region. However, only three managed to move on to the next round in a three-day event filled with upsets.
“It was frustrating,” head coach Rollie Geiger said. “We had a couple athletes fall short; I certainly thought they would be in the NCAAs. It’s a tough game.”
On the track, the Pack has excelled in distance running throughout the season. Redshirt senior Andrew Colley and redshirt sophomore Graham Crawford were both ranked in the top seven in the men’s 5,000-meter, and junior Joanna Thompson was ranked No. 10 in the women’s 10,000-meter.
However, Crawford and Thompson fell short in each of their two events, and at the end of the day, Colley was the only Wolfpack runner heading to Eugene. The Williamsburg, Va. native cruised to a 10th-place finish in the 5,000-meter, with a time of 14:14.34. In his four years with the Pack, Colley has advanced to Nationals three times.
“It’s different every time, but the goal the same,” Colley said. “It’s getting to be a routine at this point.”
Colley, an all-time great in the State running community, finished seventh overall in the NCAA Cross Country Championships in the fall and will look to end his career with the Pack in style.
“I’m going to go out there and put myself in the mix,” Colley said. “I’m not going to be in the background in someone else’s race, but be up there in the front with the guys trying to win.”
Though he was the only runner to qualify for Nationals, Colley said he saw potential in the younger runners on the team.
“I told them to focus on the plan that Coach Geiger gave us because a lot of times you can get caught up in what some of the websites say,” Colley said.
On the field, State had three athletes competing in the women’s discus. Junior Tremanisha Taylor and sophomore Nicole Chavis each finished outside of the top 20, and sophomore SeQuoia Watkins came up big for the Pack with a throw of 54.98 meters, good enough for sixth in the competition and a spot in Nationals.
Not only did Watkins’ throw earn a trip to Eugene, it also landed her in the N.C. State record books, breaking her previous school record by one inch. After the competition, Watkins revealed her secret to tossing discus better than any woman in N.C. State history.
“I went and got my nails done,” Watkins said.
In seriousness, Watkins has earned two consecutive berths to Nationals in her two years with the Pack. Geiger said at this rate, Watkins could break her own record many more times.
“In the throwing events, you get better with time,” Geiger said. “I expect her to hit the 190-foot range in time.”
Though her fellow throwers all came up short in the competition, Watkins said with the experience gained from this trip to Regionals, her, Taylor and Chavis can be quite the formidable trio next year.
“We’re going to come out a lot stronger than we did this year,” Watkins said. “Now we know what to expect.”
In the jumps, two names have stood out for the Pack all season long: sophomores Alexis Perry and Jonathan Addison. Both were ranked in the top 15 in long jump entering the three-day event, with Perry at No. 4.
When the dust settled, Perry was one-half of an inch short of a trip to Oregon. Addison, however, was able to make a trip to the podium, finishing third in the men’s competition and setting a personal best in the process.
Addison had to overcome controversy before his jump, as a weather delay kept him sidelined for four hours.
“I was pretty nervous; I didn’t know if I would get an ample amount of time to warm up,” Addison said. “It ended up working out. I got plenty of time to warm up, and my nervousness changed to adrenaline. I was really pumped when I started.”
Addison will be making his first trip to Nationals. Though he only qualified for long jump, the Raleigh native also finished 19th in the high jump. Addison said he hopes to qualify for Nationals in both sports in the future.
“In the second half of the season, we focused mostly on long jump,” Addison said. “When I get back to doing high jump again, it should improve.”
Despite only qualifying three, Geiger said he saw good things from all of his athletes.
“They’re all young, they’re all underclassmen,” Geiger said. “They’ll use the competition as a learning experience and next year will perform at a higher level.”
