The North Carolina track and field team had planned to spread itself across the country this weekend — to Seattle, Wash., Albuquerue, N.M., and Winston-Salem.
But after snow canceled the trips out west, it looked like the team might have been stuck with no place to go.
So when the roads leading to Winston-Salem were deemed passable, UNC relished the opportunity to compete.
The Tar Heels claimed first place in 10 events Saturday at the UCS Invitational, which was compressed from two days to one.
“It turned out to be a fantastic meet for us,” coach Harlis Meaders said. “The kids that were going to go out west performed as well here as they could have out west.”
Freshman triple jumper Keyasia Tibbs was especially grateful for the chance to perform — when she stepped onto the runway and eyed the sandbox at the end, it was the first time in three weeks that she’d done so in competition .
Tibbs took a break from meets recently to go back to the basics. She worked extra hours with an assistant coach to improve her form and by Saturday she was eager to test her progress.
“I didn’t compete in the last few meets so I could work on the techniques and the things that I needed to work on,” Tibbs said. “We really focused on specific aspects of the jump. We went backward, took it slow and worked our way forward.”
The hard work paid off. Her 12.28-meter final jump was good for first place and her collegiate indoor personal best .
