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The Daily Tar Heel

Men's track team finishes seventh, women's squad places eighth at ACC Championships

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UNC track and field athlete Emily Godwin high fives a participant during National Girls and Women in Sports Day, hosted at UNC.

The North Carolina track and field teams had a long three days of competition at the ACC Championships in Coral Gables, Fla.

The men's team placed seventh with 51.5 points, while the women's squad took home eighth place with a score of 50.5 points in the competition that ran from May 10-12.

Day One

On the first day of events, redshirt senior Emily Godwin and first-year Jill Shippee earned All-ACC honors in their respective events. Godwin received the honor for the 12th time in her career after she tied for third in the high jump, bounding 5 feet, 6.5 inches, to put her on the winner's podium. Godwin's performance was rewarded with first-team ACC honors for the fifth time in her lengthy career.

Shippee finished fourth in the women's hammer throw with a toss of 202-2 to earn second-team ACC honors for the first time in her career.

Senior Kenny Selmon bolstered his strong resume by reaching the 400-meter hurdles final with a blazing top time of 49.33.

Senior Natasha Dixon also had a strong performance, clocking a lifetime-best 58.79 in the 400-meter hurdles. It was Dixon's first time qualifying for the finals in her career. 

Sophomore Brianna Duncan emerged victorious from her heat in the 200-meter preliminaries to advance to the final with a time of 23.31.

Day Two

The highlights from the second day consisted of sophomore Daniel McArthur and first-year Anna Keefer earning All-ACC honors and six other Tar Heels advancing to event finals.

McArthur finished in sixth place in the men's shot put to receive All-ACC marks for the second straight year at the outdoor championships. 

Keefer, already an ACC champion in women’s long jump this year, placed sixth with a jump of 19 feet, 10.25 inches to give her All-ACC honors for the second time in her inaugural season. 

Senior Cierra Dunston had one of the best runs of her career, setting a career mark and placing first in the 400-meter field with a time of 52.79. Her time was the fifth fastest for the event in UNC history. 

Dixon produced the best time of her career in the 100-meter hurdles, clocking in at 13.50. She also competed in the 400-meter hurdles, earning herself the privilege of being the only woman to qualify for the finals in both events.

Day Three

Continuing his stellar showing, Selmon won a second consecutive ACC title in the 400-meter hurdles to remain undefeated in the event on the season. He is the second Tar Heel to win back-to-back titles in the last five years. His victory marks the sixth time a North Carolina runner has won the event in the past eight seasons.

He was also a part of the men’s 4x400 relay that ran a season-best 3:07:66 to take home first place. The victory was the fifth by UNC in the event in the last six seasons. 

Another member of the successful relay team, first-year Isaiah Palmer, earned first-team All-ACC honors after recording a career-best in the 400-meter event. Palmer finished third with a time of 46.55.

The women's 4x400 relay team finished fourth with a time of 3:34:97 — its best time of the season. A squad that included Dixon and Dunston posted the fourth best time in program history and earned second-team All-ACC honors.

The Tar Heel men earned first-team All-ACC in four events and received second-team honors in three events for the weekend. Meanwhile, the women's team had one first-team All-ACC selection and earned second-team honors in seven events.

Overall, the men's squad finished seventh in the championships with 51.5 points, and the women’s team finished eighth with 50.5 points. 

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UNC will next compete in the NCAA East Preliminary Round from May 24-26 in Tampa Bay, looking to punch a ticket for the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

@andrewmontross

@DTHSports | sports@dailytarheel.com