The USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships took place this past weekend in Eugene, Oregon, hosting some of the best athletes in the nation vying for a spot on the national team.
Two members of the NC State track and field team traveled to the West Coast for the Championships — recent graduate Kenyetta Iyevbele and sophomore Quashawn Cunningham.
Iyevbele competed in the women’s 800m, finishing 13th in the 32-athlete field. The Wolfpacker broke her own school record for the second time in less than two weeks, recording a time of 2:02.43 in her semi-final heat.
Iyevbele’s mark earned her an automatic berth in next summer’s United States Olympic Trials. Head coach Rollie Geiger said the automatic qualifier will be very beneficial for Iyevbele during the upcoming year.
“Her performance put her in a situation where she won’t need to worry about her mark when training for the Olympic Trials,” Geiger said. “It’s great to see her running at that level.”
To qualify for the event, Iyevbele ran in the Portland Track Festival June 14, breaking her previous school record with a time of 2:03.01. The time was just .01 seconds shy of an automatic qualifier.
Despite finishing sixth in her eight-person preliminary heat, Iyevbele advanced to the semifinals with the 12th-fastest time in the first round where she earned a 13th-place result.
“I knew I had to make myself part of the race,” Iyevbele said. “I was feeling good and peaking well. I needed to race to my full potential.”
Iyevbele said she faced incredible competition at the Championships, as many athletes had represented the U.S. on an international level in the past.
In the Junior Championships, Cunningham finished ninth in the men’s 100m with a time of 10.62, just .01 seconds shy of a berth in the final round.
Cunningham had been out for several months due to hamstring issues prior to the Championships this past weekend.
Geiger said not only was Cunningham’s feat impressive on a personal level, but his success was great for NC State as a whole.
“Cunningham was very close to making the finals,” Geiger said. “It’s important for NC State to get exposure in men’s sprinting.”
Joining Iyevbele and Cunningham at the Championships was Wolfpack alum Ryan Hill, one of the greatest runners in program history.
During his time at State from 2008-11, Hill was a 10-time all-American and set four program records in the men’s mile, 1,500m, 3,000m and 5,000m.
Hill took home the gold in the men’s 5,000m, marking the first national win of his career. Geiger said he was extremely proud of Hill for his victory.
“He’s a world-class athlete and a great representative of the university,” Geiger said. “Ryan doesn’t surprise me; he has a lot of tools to draw upon.”
Hill will represent the United States in the 2015 IAAF World Championships team between Aug. 22-30 in Beijing, as well as multiple other international track events throughout the year.
