NC State Opens Strong at Raleigh Relays

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RALEIGH - The NC State track and field teams are off to a record start at the 2016 Raleigh Relays. The Pack laid down 12 ACC qualifying marks, a host of personal records and seven marks that rank among the top-25 in the national standings.

Early in the day it was the Pack's sprinters, jumpers and throwers who earned strong marks. The distance group took over down the stretch, providing several highlights during the day's final races.

#wishyouwerehere #RaleighRelays pic.twitter.com/56kW51s9OR
— Pack Track & Field (@Wolfpack_TF) March 25, 2016

Meet Highlights:
Overall, two meet records were broken.

Nike sprinter Sean McLean ran a 10.13 100m dash in the opening heat to beat David Bobb's meet record (10.20) from 1997 and Harvey McSwain's facility record (10.18) from 1983.

Wolfpack signee Kenny Kenisel added a meet record in the boy's 3,200m race with a time of 8:57.77 to beat out Isaac Presson's record (9:00.87) from 2010.

Throws:
Lauren Evans continued to build on her shot put PR, reaching a personal best for the second-straight meet. Evan launched the shot 49'2.25" to finish fifth.

Nicole Chavis also threw for a PR, and won the women's discus with a toss of 161'9". It marks her first time cracking the 161' mark since last season's Florida Relays.

Jumps:
The Wolfpack jumpers dominated the competition, winning three events and finishing as the runner up in two more. Margaret Edwards kicked off the meet, with a season-best mark of 5'8" to win the women's high jump and qualify for ACCs. Christopher Garrick finished second in the men's high jump invitational after clearing 6'10.75, which is a 2" improvement from his first jump of the outdoor season.

Jonathan Addison added a win the men's long jump invitational with a leap of 25'8.25". Addison only took three jumps, and opted out of the final in the winning effort.

On the women's side, Alexis Perry finished second in the long jump invitational with a jump of 19'11.75". It is a 3" improvement from her first jump of the season.

In the long jump, Amara Bell added a big PR and an event win with a leap of 18'10.50". Bell's previous outdoor PR was 18'7.00".

Sprints:
Paisley Simmons rolled out to a win in the 100m dash prelims, earning a new PR of 11.50. The mark is currently ranked 10^th in the nation and qualifies her for the ACC Championships.

Simmons went head-to-head with Olympian and 400m American record holder Francena McCorory. McCrory had a slight edge over Simmons after the first 50m, but the Wolfpack junior out-kicked the Olympian down the final stretch for the win. The time is .38 of a second improvement from her first run this season.

A few shots of Paisley Simmons and Olympian Francena McCorory going neck-and-neck in today's 100m dash. pic.twitter.com/tpJKqQ5Rgg
— Pack Track & Field (@Wolfpack_TF) March 25, 2016

Also highlighting the event for the Pack and making finals was Gabriele Cunningham, who finished with a time of 11.74 for sixth place.

On the men's side, Wolfpack football and track alum, TJ Graham, took second overall in the 100m prelims. Graham currently runs with Sprint Capital and crossed the finish line in 10.25 – just short of a meet record.

Quashawn Cunningham won the third heat and finished fourth overall with a wind-aided time of 10.34. Jonathan Addison, who finished eighth overall with a time of 10.47 will join Cunningham in the final heat Saturday.

Quashawn Cunningham has the fastest collegiate time in prelims so far and won his heat with a time of 10.34 pic.twitter.com/Oz2xsIJNCR
— Pack Track & Field (@Wolfpack_TF) March 25, 2016

NC State placed two of its 400m sprinters under 48 seconds, as Will Krehnbrink and Brian Davis earned big PRs and ACC qualifying marks. Krehnbrink won his heat and finished sixth overall in 47.18. Davis also won his heat and took ninth overall in 47.92.

Patterson ran his first 400m dash of the season and finished 16th out of 85 participants in 48.20.

Hurdles:
NC State hurdles added to the successful day, as Perry won the women's event and two men earned PRs in the event.

Last year, Perry finished with a national top-10 time in the event. Her mark of 13.18 today currently ranks second in the NCAA and puts her in a strong position to qualify for regionals.

On the men's side, Joshua Gandy (14.70) and Grant Rivers (15.32) both earned PRs, while Dorian Williams led the group with a 19^th-place finish in 14.68.

Mid-Distance:
Graham Crawford added an ACC qualifying mark in the 1,500m, running 3:45.78. Crawford closed his final lap in 57.02 seconds. The mark currently ranks fourth in the nation and third in the region.

Graham Crawford runs 3:45.78 for third in the final heat of the 1,500m pic.twitter.com/5qJiCMPtrZ
— Pack Track & Field (@Wolfpack_TF) March 25, 2016

On the women's side, Bethany Neeley finished 15th out of 108 participants and led the Wolfpack women in the event with a time of 4:30.28.

Distance:
Rachel Bartolomeo led the Pack with a 10th-place finish in the steeplechase. Bartolomeo won the opening heat and finished 10th overall in 10:49.21.

Bartolomeo wins the opening 3k steeple in 10:48.21! That time currently ranks 4th in the East region. pic.twitter.com/hqCH1XhJP4
— Pack Track & Field (@Wolfpack_TF) March 25, 2016

In the 5,000m, Andie Cozzarelli took 11th with a time of 16:38.18. Cozzarelli currently runs for Oiselle and recently competed at the USATF Olympic Marathon Trials in Los Angeles.

In the men's race, Sebastian Hanson and Patrick Sheehan earned ACC qualifying marks, crossing the finish line 14:10.34 and 14:24.55.

In the meet's final events of the night, Alexa Harvey finished 19th in the 10,000m with a time of 35:33.61.

Sam Parsons provide the grand finale for the Pack and harnessed the Raleigh Relays Magic to finish fifth overall in the 10,000m with a time of 29:11.87. The race marked Parsons' first outdoor track meet racing in uniform and also solidified his spot atop the national and regional lists.

The mark currently ranks fifth in the nation and region and qualifies him for the ACC Championships.

Tonight's race was the fastest 10k of the season in the nation and placed the top-20 runners at the front of the 10,000m national standings.

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Players Mentioned

Jonathan Addison

Rachel Bartolomeo

Amara Bell

Nicole Chavis

Graham Crawford

Gabriele Cunningham

Quashawn Cunningham

Brian Davis

Margaret Edwards

Lauren Evans

Christopher Garrick

Sebastian Hanson

Alexa Harvey

Will Krehnbrink

Bethany Neeley

Sam Parsons

Alexis Perry

Grant Rivers

Patrick Sheehan

Paisley Simmons