NC State ACC Indoors Preview

Live Stats | Championships Central | WatchESPN

RALEIGH, N.C. – The No. 9 women's and No. 18 men's NC State track and field teams are traveling to Boston for the ACC Indoor Track and Field Championships, which runs Thursday-Saturday.

NC State will aim to improve from its 2015 ACC Indoor finishes. Additionally, the meet serves as a last-chance opportunity to chase and defend national top-16 marks, which guarantee a spot in the NCAA Indoor Championships.

The meet will be broadcast on ESPN3 Friday and Saturday.

Last Time at ACCs:
In 2015, the Wolfpack men took 9th with 29 points. Jonathan Addison anchored the team and was named the ACC Co-Field MVP after winning the high jump, placing second in the long jump and taking fourth in the 100m dash.

On the women's side, the team finished sixth with 55.5 points, scoring points in almost every type of event.

Alexis Perry led the squad with a gold in the long jump and a fifth-place finish in the 60m hurdles. Nicole Chavis added a silver medal in the weight throw, Erika Kemp took home bronze in the 5,000m and the women's DMR team also earned bronze.

Lacey Shuman (high jump), Paisley Simmons (60m dash, 200m dash) Joanna Thompson (5,000m) and SeQuoia Watkins (weight throw) all earned Second-Team All-ACC honors with top-six finishes.

Pack in the Polls:
The NC State women's team has earned its first ever USTFCCA top-10 regular season ranking. The team opened the year in the top-25 and quickly moved into the top-10 after the second week of competition. The team has remained in the top-10 all season and is currently ranked No. 9.

The men's team began the year on the outside looking in from the top-25, but moved up after a strong individual results and individual national qualifiers. The men have also maintained their ranking for most of the year, checking at No. 18 in the latest USTFCCCA Poll.

National Marks and School Records:
The national rankings have come from strong individual marks throughout the season. Erika Kemp kicked off the year with an impressive 15:45.46 5,000m race at the BU Season Opener. Her mark beat out current coach Laurie Henes' previous indoor school record. The mark currently ranks 4th in the NCAA.

Kemp earned her second national mark of the season at the Camel City Elite in Winston-Salem, N.C., crossing the finish line in 9:12.71. The mark would rank 10th in the NCAA if Kemp had not bettered the time later in the season. The junior took seventh in 9:06.07 at the Husky Classic in Seattle, Wash., to enter the ACC Championships with the nation's 6th-best 3,000m time.

Wesley Frazier added another national mark and school record for the Pack's distance program in the 3,000m. In her first race in uniform, Frazier garnered national attention, netting the top-time in the NCAA and a new school record of 9:01.26 (converted to 8:56.66). The mark now ranks second in the country just behind Allie Ostrander of Boise State.

Just a few weeks later, Megan Moye completed the distance sweep, breaking the 27-year old indoor mile record in 4:37.04 at the Husky Classic. The mark is ranked 11th in NCAA standings.

Alexis Perry is just outside of a 60m hurdles national mark, ranking 18^th in the NCAA with a mark of 8.24. Perry set the mark at the VT Elite.

The Wolfpack Women also broke a field event school record, as Nicole Chavis extended her grip on the weight throw record with a toss of 71'10.75" at the Vanderbilt Invitational. Chavis has held the record since her sophomore year and has extended it multiple times each year. The Lumberton, N.C., native is currently second in national standings.

The men's side has also re-written the record books, adding four school records and four national qualifying marks.

Elon-transfer Luis Vargas has been a catalyst for the men's team this season, earning two individual current top-16 times and running a leg on the 15th-ranked DMR team.

He opened his season quickly, earning national 5,000m and 3,000m marks in his first two races. Vargas set his first top time in the 5,000m at the Hosier Open in December, before improving the mark at the Husky Classic. His 5k time is ranked 14th in the country.

Vargas added to his resume at the Camel City Invite, placing third in the 3,000m race with a then-nation leading time of 7:48.81 (converted from 7:54.26). Entering the weekend, Vargas is fourth in the NCAA.

If his two national marks weren't enough, Vargas continued to add to his successful season by setting a school record and the nation's 15th-best mark of 9:39.01 in the DMR.

Vargas anchored team with a sub-4 minute 1,600m leg. Meron Simon ran the opening 1,200m leg, Shannon Patterson ran the 400m section and true freshman Philip Hall completed the 800m leg.

Mid-distance specialist Graham Crawford enters his final ACC Indoor Championships with a mark just outside the top-16. He currently ranks 24th in the NCAA with his mile time of 3:59.20. A 1 second improvement would send him to 14th in the national standings.

The men's team broke all three of its school records at the VT Elite meet in February.

Jonathan Addison jumped to a then-world leading and current NCAA leading mark of 26'9.75" in the long jump. The mark broke Neil Chance's indoor record, which was set in 1993.

Addison shares the national lead with Jarrion Lawson of Arkansas.

Joshua Davis added a men's weight throw school record with a heave of 68'6.00". His mark is outside the top-16 national standings at 24th, but he could break into the top-16 with a one foot improvement.

Grant Rivers marks the eighth and final school record for the Pack this indoor season. The multi-event specialist broke the men's heptathlon record with 4.920 points. Rivers has been improving steadily all year and was also on pace to break the record at the Tobacco Road Multis before severe weather interrupted the event.

Men's Outlook:

Throws:
Davis leads the men's throwers with his weight throw school record and one of only four athletes in the ACC to have cracked the 68' mark this season. David Rocker has also been consistent force for the men's throws and ranks 19th in the conference.

Jumps:
In addition to Addison's long jump mark, true freshman Christopher Garrick and Addison enter ACCs tied for fourth in the conference in high jump standings with a mark of 6'10.75". Both have cleared seven feet in their careers and could add points for the Pack in the event.

Multi:
Rivers is the lone multi-event athlete in competition for NC State. He enters the competition as the seven seed and has already set PRs in four individual events as well as his school record in the heptathlon.

Sprints & Hurdles:
NC State will look for points from its sprinters and hurdlers. The Pack has three 60m sprinters in the top-10 and five sprinters in the top-20. Nyheim Hines leads the group at fourth (6.74), Quashawn Cunningham is sixth (6.78), and Addison is tied for eighth (6.80).

The Pack also hold high seeds in the long sprints, as Cunningham leads the Pack in the 200m dash, ranking 2^nd with a mark of 21.30. Patterson trails closely behind in fifth with a mark of 21.60. In the 400m dash, Will Krehnbrink checks in in at sixth in the conference standings with a mark of 47.56. Will along with his brother Sam Krehnbrink and Brian Davis will line up in the 400m dash.

Hurdlers Josh Gandy and Dorian Williams could also score points. The two are ranked 11^th (8.22) and 17^th (8.34), respectively.

NC State's 4x400 team is ranked seven in the conference with a season-high time of 3:14.53.

Distance/Mid-Distance
In addition to Vargas and Crawford, the Pack brings a strong group of mid-distance and distance runners to the meet.

Jonathan Knight leads the Pack's 800m runners with a mark of 1:51:89 and Crawford is ranked fourth in the mile. Jack Hagood will also line up in the 800m dash, while Hall will race in the mile.

In distance events, the Pack has four runners ranked top-20 in the 3,000m and three in the top-20 in the 5,000m. Vargas is a frontrunner for both, while, Crawford, Hall Sebastian Hanson, Simon and Patrick Sheehan could challenge at 3,000m.

Along with Vargas, Sheehan and Sam Parsons will line up in the 5k. Vargas leads the group with a seed time of 13:47.00, and Parsons holds a qualifying mark of 14:25.61.

The DMR team of Simon, Hall, Patterson and Vargas ranks fourth in the conference.

Women's Outlook:
Throws
Two-time All-American Nicole Chavis leads the women's throwers with the ACC's best mark. Watkins (6^th, 62'8.50") and Lauren Evans (15^th, 56'4.50) could also challenge for points in this year's weight throw.

NC State will look for points in the shot put behind Alyssa Dunn (12^th, 45'8.50) and Evans (15^th, 45'3.50").

Jumps:
Perry is the defending ACC long jump champion. She enters the meet with the 6^th highest seed of 19'11.00".

Javonne Antoine has scored triple jump points for the Pack at last year's ACC
Championships. The sophomore enters with the sixth-highest seed of 41'0.50". Amara Bell holds qualifying marks in both horizontal jumping events.

High jumper Margaret Edwards is ranked ninth in the conference standings with a season-high mark of 5'7.25".

Sprints & Hurdles:
Short sprint specialist Paisley Simmons has qualifying marks in the 60m and 200m dash. The 2015 2^nd-team All-ACC selection has been a consistent force in the events and scored points for NC State in both the 2015 ACC Indoor and 2015 ACC Outdoor Championships.

Tiana Patillo will run the 200m and 400m dashes, while J'den Williams will run the 60m dash and enters the meet with 15^th seed of 7.57.

Perry's 60m hurdle season best ranks 4^th in the ACC.

True freshman Gabriele Cunningham is slated to compete in the 60m dash and 60m hurdles. The sprinter and hurdler ranks 8^th in the ACC in the 60m and 16^th in the 60m hurdles.

Distance/Mid-Distance:
In addition to NC State's national distance leaders, the Pack has depth across the distance events.

Moye holds the top seed in the mile at 4:37.04. True freshman Sarah Kanney will also compete in the mile and enters the meet with a seed of 4:55.63.

Alyssa Rudawsky, Rachel Koon Kemp and Moye will run in the 3,000m, and Koon Kemp and Alexa Harvey will line up for the 5,000m.

Kemp leads the women's distance runners with top-three seeds in both events – including the top seed in the 5k.

The Pack will debut its DMR team featuring Esther Fisher, Dejah Arnold, Kanney and Rudawsky.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jonathan Addison

Javonne Antoine

Dejah Arnold

Amara Bell

Nicole Chavis

Graham Crawford

Gabriele Cunningham

Quashawn Cunningham

Brian Davis

Joshua Davis

Alyssa Dunn

Margaret Edwards

Lauren Evans

Esther Fisher

Wesley Frazier

Josh Gandy

Christopher Garrick

Philip Hall

Sebastian Hanson

Alexa Harvey

Nyheim Hines

Erika Kemp

Rachel Koon

Sam Krehnbrink

Will Krehnbrink

Megan Moye

Sam Parsons

Tiana Patillo

Shannon Patterson

Alexis Perry

Grant Rivers

Alyssa Rudawsky

Patrick Sheehan

Paisley Simmons

Meron Simon

Joanna Thompson

Luis Vargas

SeQuoia Watkins

Related Videos