School Record Falls & Smith Earns Podium Spot In Day One Of Outdoor ACC’s

Photo by: Matt Hawley/Pitt Athletics

School Record Falls & Smith Earns Podium Spot In Day One Of Outdoor ACC’s

5/14/2021 8:10:00 AM | Track & Field

RALEIGH, NC – The Pitt track and field team wrapped up the first day of the 2021 ACC Outdoor Championships with a couple impressive performances a school record fell and one Panther earned a spot on the podium.

The Pitt men opened up the championship with 12 points on the first day and are currently tied for seventh heading into action Friday. On the women's side, Pitt is one of four teams without points so far but four Panthers qualified for Saturday finals with impressive showings in the prelims.

Senior Kollin Smith posted the best finish of the day for the Panthers in the long jump as he was able to secure a third place finish with a big leap of 24-6.5 (7.48m). The leap helped Smith secure First Team All-ACC honors for the first time in his career while also scoring six points for the team. Fellow long jumper Felix Wolter posted a seventh place finish with a leap of 24-0.25 (7.32m) to score two points for the Panthers.

?? PODIUM ALERT ??

Senior @K_Smittyy22 takes home ?? in the long jump with a leap of 24-6.5 (7.48m).

? First Team All-ACC
? 6 Team Points#H2P // #ACCOTF?? pic.twitter.com/I6GODldHkC
— Pitt TF/XC (@Pitt_TF_XC) May 14, 2021

The best performance on the track on Thursday afternoon was turned in by senior captain Ally Brunton who was able to break her own school record in the 1500m prelims as she posted a time of 4:18.46. Brunton's school record run secured sixth place and a spot in the Saturday final in the event.

?? SCHOOL RECORD ??

Senior @ally_brunton breaks her own school record in the 1500m prelims to qualify for the Saturday final.

? 4:18.46#H2P // #ACCOTF?? pic.twitter.com/jyUxa1kwcN
— Pitt TF/XC (@Pitt_TF_XC) May 13, 2021

The day began for the Panthers with a fifth place finish in the javelin by senior Noah Walker as he launched a toss that traveled a season-best distance of 213-0 (64.93m). Walker's throw earned him Second Team All-ACC honors and four points for the team to open the day. Walker then had a quick turnaround and compete in the hammer throw, finishing in 14^th place with a throw of 182-5 (55.61m).

The Panthers had a strong showing in the 400m hurdle prelims as they had a total of four qualify for Saturday finals. On the women's side, junior Eddita Pessima had the best showing of her career to win her heat as she crossed the finish line in 59.00 seconds, the sixth fastest time in program history. Seniors Breanna Phillips and Aysha Muhammad finished 2-3 in their heat to secure spots in the final as they each posted PR times, crossing the finish line in 1:00.58 and 1:00.62, respectively. Phillips' time marks the 10^th fastest in program history in the event. On the men's side, junior Matt Wilson ran a great race and qualified with the third fastest time in prelims, crossing the line in 52.00 seconds.

Seniors Ade Jones-Roundtree and Lonzell Feagin just missed out on qualifying for the Saturday final in the 200m dash as they posted 10^th and 15^th place finishes, respectively, in the prelims. Jones-Roundtree crossed the line in 21.13 seconds while Feagin notched a personal record time of 21.41 seconds.

The men's 10000m run closed out day one action on Thursday night as Nick Wolk posted a time of 29:37.30 while freshman Luke Henseler made his ACC Championship debut with a personal record time of 30:28.46, the 10^th fastest time in the event in program history.

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