Track and Field Set to Compete at ACC Outdoor Championships

Track and Field Set to Compete at ACC Outdoor Championships

May 12, 2016 | Track & Field

Cardinals will begin postseason competition at the ACC Championships

By: Kim Pemberton

Event: ACC Outdoor Championship
Date: May 13-15, 2016
Site: Mike Long Track | Tallahassee, Fla.
Start Times: 9:30 a.m. Friday | 10 a.m. Saturday | 11 a.m. Sunday
Television: ESPN3 coverage will be streamed live from 6 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. on all three days of coverage.
ESPN3 coverage will be aired with Tom Block handling play-by-play duties and former Olympic medalist Lauryn Williams serving as analyst.

This Week: The Louisville men's and women's track and field teams will begin postseason competition as they travel to Tallahassee, Fla. to compete in the ACC Outdoor Championships on the campus of Florida State.

Friday's action at the ACC Outdoor Championships features the men's decathlon and women's heptathlon set to begin at 11:30 a.m. and noon. Friday will also feature the first field event finals beginning at 10 a.m. and the first events on the track at 6:00 p.m.

On Saturday, the multi-events will conclude at 11:15 a.m. and noon. Saturday's field events are slated for a 10:00 a.m. start followed by the day's first preliminary races on the track at 5:45 p.m.

The three-day championship concludes Sunday at 11:00 a.m. with the field events and 5:00 p.m. on the track.

Up Next: The NCAA Preliminaries will take place in Jacksonville, Fla. on May 26-28.

ACC Championships Outlook
This week, the Cardinals will compete in their second ACC Outdoor Championships and will have numerous athletes competing in hopes of securing a medal. Leading up to the meet, the Cardinals have 12 athletes with performances that rank in the top five of the ACC including three who hold the best mark of the season by an individual in the ACC. Last season, the Cardinals picked up five event wins and Emmonnie Henderson was named the ACC Women's Field MVP. The women finished sixth while the men took eighth in their first ACC Outdoor Championships.

Williams Earns Final ACC Weekly Honor
The Atlantic Coast Conference announced its final Outdoor Track and Field Performers of the Week for the 2016 season on Tuesday as teams and student-athlete gear up for this week's ACC Championships at Tallahassee, Florida. Louisville's Ben Williams was named the ACC Men's Field Performer of the Week. Williams made his outdoor triple jump debut at the Rankin/Poehlein Invitational last Saturday afternoon. He finished with a season best mark of 16.05m/52-8 to win the event. His mark currently ranks ninth in the nation and stands as the Cardinal junior's 12th career win.

Cards Finish Strong
With the ACC Outdoor Championships looming, the Cardinals competed in their final regular season meet and left the Rankin/Poehlein Invitational with 12 victories and 31 top three finishes. Ben Williams competed in his first meet of the season and won the triple jump with a mark that ranks ninth in the nation and first in the ACC. Eric Fox (Pole Vault) and Isaac Bowling (Discus) also picked up victories for the men. The women picked up six wins including a sweep in the hurdle events by Brianne Brown (100mH) and Sydney Hill (400mH). Emmonnie Henderson (Shot Put), Kayla Tyson (200m), Lydia Mato (1500m), and Emily Bryan (Javelin) picked up victories. Among the individual winners, the Cardinals picked up three victories in the relay with a sweep in the 4x100 relay and the men's 4x400 relay.

Multi-Event Athletes Shine
At the Lenny Lyles/Clark Wood Invitational, athletes that specialized in multi-events were able to display their talents in a variety of events. In the men's decathlon, Eric Fox set a new school record with 7,032 points while winning six of the 10 events. Freshman Cody Swabek finished third with 6,231 points. In the women's heptathlon, Holly Hankenson set a new school record with 5,333 points and Linda Mutter finished second with 5,133 points.

Continued Success
In their final home meet of the season, the Cardinals posted 11 wins at the Lenny Lyles/Clark Wood Invitational at Cardinal Park. Darrius Lopez led off the weekend with a win in the hammer throw with a personal best mark of 6.59m/198-09. Louisville swept both discus events with Codie Hamsley and Emmonnie Henderson posting victories. The Cardinal distance runners had a strong weekend as they swept both 1500m and 3000m events. Kelsey Cramsey led the field in the 1500m and Edwin Kibichiy set a new meet record in his win in the event. In the 3000m, Lydia Mato and Ernest Kibet both set Cardinal Park records with their first place times. Halee Hudson won the women's javelin throw and both Eric Fox(decathlon) and Holly Hankenson (heptathlon) won their multi-events. The women's 4x100 relay team of Sydney Hill, La'Bianca Frazier, Kayla Tyson, and Bre'Yana Wash won the event in 3:48.12.

Seven Earn All-ACC Academic Honors
ACC Commissioner John Swofford announced that seven Cardinals were named to the Indoor Track and Field All-ACC Academic Team. Senior Edwin Kibichiy was the lone representative on the men's academic team while Kelsey Cramsey, Raven Grant, Holly Hankenson, Chanel Krause, Dolly Nyemah, and Bre'Yana Wash were named to the women's academic team. Minimum academic requirements for selection to the All-ACC Academic Team are a 3.0 grade point average for the previous semester and a 3.0 cumulative average during one's academic career. Athletic achievements during the most recent season are also considered in selecting the All-ACC Academic Team.

Freshman Prowess
In her first season with the Cardinals, Raven Grant has put her speed on display. After a strong indoor season, the Conway, S.C. native has continued to impress. At the Louisville Invitational, Grant set a school record in the 100m with a time of 11.46 breaking the previous record of 11.48 that was set in 2013 by Margaret Harris. Her time of 11.46 is second in the ACC in the event. Grant followed the record breaking performance with a third place finish in the 200m. The freshman already has three individual victories and also has been a part of two 4x100m relay victories this season.

Strong Showing at Louisville Invitational
At the first home meet of the season, the Cardinals displayed a strong performance as there were 10 individual wins plus a relay victory at the Louisville Invitational. Freshman Raven Grant continued to have an impressive freshman campaign as she set a school record in her 100m victory. Emmonnie Henderson won both the shot put and the discus and her throw in the shot put is currently ranked 12th in the nation. Edwin Kibichiy competed in the 3000m steeplechase for the first time this season and won the event displaying the ninth best time in the event in the nation. Martice Moore (110m hurdles) and Alexis Murry (400m hurdles) led the Cardinals in the hurdle events while Japhet Kipkoech (5000m) and Claire Noser (3000m steeplechase) paced the Cardinal distance runners. In the jumps, Kaleb Rowepicked up a victory in the triple jump while Bre'Yana Wash picked up her three outdoor victory in the long jump. The women's 4x100 relay team of Murry, Kayla Tyson, Wash, and Grant won the event with a time of 45.39.

Setting New Records
At the Florida Relays, two school records were broken to highlight the Cardinals' performance at the meet. In the preliminaries, the men's 4x400m relay team of Martice Moore, Jeron Brown, Teague Peck, and Antoine Keys won their heat with a school record time of 3:08.74. They broke the record of 3:11.07 that was set last year at the Florida Relays. The women's 4x100m shuttle relay team of Brianne Brown, Alexis Murry, Holly Hankenson, and Linda Mutter broke a 16-year-old school record. The foursome finished 10th in the event with a time of 58.49 which broke the previous record of 1:00.76 that was set in 2000 at the Alabama Relays.

Bowling Picks Up Win
At the Florida Relays, fifth-year senior Isaac Bowling won the men's discus with a throw of 53.50m/175-06, which was a personal best. The victory for Bowling is his first of his career in the discus throw event.

Going the Distance
Junior Calvin Chemoiywo is off to a fantastic start in the outdoor season. Chemoiywo began the season with a victory in the 5000m at the USF Bulls Invitational. The Kabarnet, Kenya native followed the victory with a career best performance in the 10,000m against elite competition at the Raleigh Relays. He led the Cardinals with a seventh place finish. At the Memphis Tiger Invitational, Ernest Kibet won the 5000m with an outdoor personal best time of 14:32.52. Japhet Kipkoech and Calvin Chemoiywo finished second and third, respectively.

Men Earn Top-25 Ranking
For the first time since 2011, the men's track and field team was ranked in the top 25 as they were ranked 24th in the preseason edition of the USTFCCCA Outdoor Team rankings. The team racked up a total of 86.68 points in the computer-based rankings which were based on the 2015 outdoor performances from each team's top talent and top marks from the current outdoor season.

Williams Earns Final ACC Weekly Honor
The Atlantic Coast Conference announced its final Outdoor Track and Field Performers of the Week for the 2016 season on Tuesday as teams and student-athlete gear up for this week's ACC Championships at Tallahassee, Florida. Louisville's Ben Williams was named the ACC Men's Field Performer of the Week. Williams made his outdoor triple jump debut at the Rankin/Poehlein Invitational last Saturday afternoon. He finished with a season best mark of 16.05m/52-8 to win the event. His mark currently ranks ninth in the nation and stands as the Cardinal junior's 12th career win.

Cards Sweep Weekly ACC Field Honors
After turning in impressive performances at the USF Invitational, Javen Reeves and Bre'Yana Wash earned weekly ACC honors. Both student-athletes posted marks in their events that currently rank in the nation's top-20. Reeves won the high jump with a personal best mark of 2.20m (7-2.50) which was just shy of the school record of 2.23m (7-3.75) set by Tone Belt. Bre'Yana Wash was victorious in the long jump with a personal best mark of 6.30m (20-8) just shy of the school record of 6.34m (20-9.75) set by Charachesicia Lockhart.

Cards Open Outdoor Season With a Boom
The Cardinals opened up their outdoor season with nine wins at the USF Bulls Invitational. While both squads won their respective 4x400m relays, the Cardinals had four individual victories on Friday before concluding the meet with three individual victories on Saturday. On Friday, Caitlin Gilmore won the hammer throw while Javen Reeves (high jump) and Bre'Yana Wash (long jump) turned in impressive performances that were just shy of existing records. In the distance events, Ernest Kibet won the 1500m run while Calvin Chemoiywo won the 5000m. Mara Zielonka was victorious in the high jump while Steve Wade won the shot put invitational.