The start gun went off, and North Carolina runner Jason Newman sprinted to the front of the pack.
But two laps later, the sophomore stepped out of the lane and watched as the other runners finished the race without him.
Newman never intended to complete the 800-meter run, as he was just used as a rabbit for the race. His job to was to set the pace to help his teammates reach qualifying times for the NCAA national championships.
For UNC, helping individuals qualify for nationals was the purpose of the Last Chance Meet on Saturday at Eddie Smith Field House. The meet served as one of the final opportunities for track and field players to qualify for nationals with either provisional or automatic times.
"It was for the people who just came off the ACC meet and had a really good meet -- to bring them back down to earth again getting ready for nationals," said UNC coach Dennis Craddock. "And for the ones who didn't have a good meet, it was to give them another chance to qualify for nationals."
Eight individual Tar Heels had first-place finishes in different events Saturday. But three Tar Heels -- Nick Owens, Noah Cosby and Daniel Harris -- also accomplished provisional status for nationals.
Owens competed in the weight throw with a mark of 67 feet 9 34 inches, and Cosby won the pole vault with a vault of 17-2 3/4. Harris won a spot at nationals with a triple jump of 51-0 14.
The three will join the eight other Tar Heels who have already qualified for nationals -- both provisionally and automatically.
"Nick and Noah, to do that well -- that's really good," Craddock said. "I'm proud of them, because any time you can make it up to the elite national level that's quite an accomplishment."
