Track Teams Open Seasons, Fieldhouse With Success

And finally, sprinters raced along the brand new lanes of the new Eddie Smith Fieldhouse.

Sunday's Carolina 5 Team meet kicked off UNC's indoor track and field season and served as a warm-up for the Tar Heels, which didn't run many of their top runners.

The meet, which also featured runners from Charlotte, N.C. Central, Wake Forest, South Carolina and St. Augustine, did not include team scoring, More importantly, it marked the first collegiate event held inside the fieldhouse.

The fieldhouse was supposed to be finished last winter, but construction problems delayed the track's opening by a year.

But that didn't seem to bother UNC coach Dennis Craddock, and neither did the absence of teams' 42 championship banners -- yet to be hung in the new rafters -- or the still-bare steel support beams.

"I thought it went really well," Craddock said. "It's such a wonderful new facility. But we really didn't know how things would flow."

Other than a slight problem with the time clock during the second women's mile race, things went smoothly for the Tar Heels.

On the women's side, freshman Erin Donohue and sophomore Alice Schmidt finished second and third, respectively, in the mile, while senior Edi Ntuen placed second in the 800-meter race.

"It's a very fast track, and I think it's going to show this year," said Ntuen, who also ran in the 1,600-meter relay.

The track's wide turns and rubber surface, called a mondo surface, generally help reduce runners' times, Craddock said.

"No one has hit great times today, but that's because it's so early in the season," he said.

Like the women's team, which has won nine straight indoor ACC titles, the men continued where they left off last year, with the throwers and jumpers carrying the squad.

High jumpers Adam Shuck and John Hubbard took first and second place for North Carolina, while seniors Ian Douglas and Sal Gigante won the shot put and weight throw, respectively.

Gigante threw a personal-best 19.96 meters despite lower back pains.

"I'm pretty happy," Gigante said. "It's a good opener. We're training through this week and the next couple to try to peak at the ACCs and nationals. But I'm on pace to throw far."

North Carolina heptathlete Michael Cvelbar also tossed a personal best, his coming in the shot put. Cvelbar, who's training for a heptathlon in two weeks, also competed in the high jump and 60-meter dash.

"For the first meet back, you just have to get back into the rhythm of things," Cvelbar said. "I'm most pleased with my consistency. I'm a little better off now than at this time last year."

So is the rest of UNC's team, who now have the newest indoor track in the ACC.

"We've had a lot of compliments on it," Craddock said. "It's one of the fastest surfaces you can get. We spent a lot of money on it, but I think it's really going to pay off."

The Sports Editor can be reached at sports@unc.edu.