Jan. 13, 2007

Complete Results

CHAPEL HILL --- The University of North Carolina men's and women's track and field teams opened the 2007 season Saturday, hosting the UNC Opener at the Eddie Smith Field House. The meet marked the first collegiate competition for many Tar Heel youngsters, while several Carolina upperclassmen got into the mix as well.

For the UNC women, seven individual event winners highlighted the day.

Junior Tyra Johnson posted two of those wins; she crossed the line in 7.60 seconds to take the 60-meter dash and her 24.52 time was best in the 200. Tar Heels Shardae Anderson and Porscha Dobson finished second and third, respectively, as UNC finished with seven of the top eight performers in that event. Dobson's 8.61 time in the 60-meter hurdles gave her a win of her own.

Continuing the winning ways for Carolina was senior Rhian Jenks, who defended her title from last year in the women's pole vault with a 11-11 3/4 clearance. Classmate Kelly Fazekas was victorious as well, narrowly beating freshman UNC teammate Kimberly Warren to take the shot put title with a 46-3 1/2 toss.

Carolina junior Jocelyn White gave UNC a second win in the throws as her 57-10 1/4 mark in the weight throw bested the field. Freshman newcomer LaShonda Carter started her career off with a bang, winning the long jump title with a 18-9 3/4 leap.

North Carolina also received numerous other outstanding performances. Colleen Farley and Emily Hoffman finished second and third, respectively, for the Tar Heels in the 800, Addie Bracy came in second in the 3000, and freshman Callie Pottinger finished third in the 400 in her first collegiate race. Fellow freshmen Ashley Hill (long jump) and Abby Kimball (pole vault) also finished third in their debuts.

On the men's side, sophomore Daniel Keller and junior Alex Ray each won their events for the Tar Heels. Keller's 15-7 height was the best in the men's pole vault, giving the Tar Heels a sweep in that event.

Ray bested teammate Tristram Thomas to take the mile title, posting a 4:17.93 time. Not done yet, Ray helped the UNC men claim the distance medley relay in 10:33.90.

Other performances of note for the Tar Heel men included a second-place finish in the shot put by junior Ian Reynolds (52-8 3/4) and third-place showings by sophomore Brock Baker in the 3000 (8:48.06) and junior Bremen de Haan in the 60-meter hurdles (8.27).

North Carolina competes next at the Clemson Invitational Jan. 19-20.

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