The North Carolina track and field team was led by senior Daniel McArthur at the Virginia Tech Invitational, who set a new school record in men's shot put. Eleven Tar Heels added to the impressive showing, setting personal bests of their own.
What happened?
North Carolina started the two-day meet on Friday with multiple athletes setting personal bests.
The standout performance on the first day came from junior Jill Shippee, who won the women's weight throw with a mark of 19.63 meters.
The personal bests in the weight throw continued onto the men's competition. Redshirt junior Madias Loper set his personal best and claimed seventh place with a throw of 17.19 meters.
On the running side of the meet, the Tar Heels were led by sophomore Qhiyal Towns, who matched his personal best of 6.81 seconds in the 60-meter dash, earning second place. Junior Anna Keefer also matched a personal best in the 60-meter dash at 7.44 and qualified for the finals but didn't race.
In the longer distances, UNC continued to set personal records and compete for podium finishes. Senior Mitch Resor and junior Ian Moini both set personal records in the men's mile and finished fifth and seventh, respectively. That trend continued throughout the day for North Carolina as senior Ashley Smith and sophomore Camryn Petit set personal records in the women's 3000-meter run, both earning top 10 finishes.
In the men's 3000-meter run, another duo of Tar Heels beat their personal records. Junior Jake McEneaney ran a time of 8:35.27 and sophomore Ryan Combs set his personal record with a time of 8:50.03.
McArthur stole the show on the second day of the event. He threw 20.35 meters in the men’s shot put to beat the school record that he had already set. No one came close to his mark as the next closest competitor was over a meter behind him at 19.02 meters.