Three Podiums Highlight Strong Weekend At ACC Outdoor Championships

Thursday, May 13

Raleigh, NC

Pitt

2021 ACC Outdoor Track & Field Championships

Three Podiums Highlight Strong Weekend At ACC Outdoor Championships

5/17/2021 11:02:00 AM | Track & Field

Complete Results Photo Gallery - Day 1 Photo Gallery - Day 2 Photo Gallery - Day 3 Photo Gallery Photo Gallery 2 Photo Gallery 3

RALEIGH, NC – The Pitt track and field team wrapped up a strong weekend at the ACC Outdoor Track & Field Championships with four school records, three podiums and 11 All-ACC performers.

The Pitt men finished the weekend with 35.5 points to earn 10^th place overall in the field of 15 teams while the women scored 20 points and finished in 12^th place overall.
In all, the Panthers had two First Team All-ACC performances and six Second Team All-ACC performances.

"Although it didn't show in the team score, especially on the men's side where we finished fourth indoors, we had some pretty outstanding performances," said head coach Alonzo Webb. "We had seven men that we expected significant contributions from that were either not available to us or just returning from injury. We broke four school records and have 14 individuals and one relay who qualified for the NCAA East Region Preliminary Round including three student-athletes who qualified in multiple events. It's one of the largest groups that have made the NCAA first round and i'm super proud of the way our teams competed and look forward to the first round of the NCAA Championships in two weeks."

The Panthers had a pair of podium performances while three school records were broken on the final day of competition on Saturday. The best performance of the weekend came from sophomore Lydia Bottelier who was able to bring home the silver medal in the women's high jump with a new personal record leap. Bottelier cleared a height of 5-8.75 (1.75m) to secure her first podium of her career while also earning First Team All-ACC honors. Her height also marked the third best in program history in the event.

The quartet of Felix Wolter, Lonzell Feagin, Matt Wilson and Ade Jones-Roundtree saved their best performance of the season for Saturday night in the final event of the meet. The 4x400m relay squad crossed the finish line in third place in an exciting race as they finished in 3:07.59, the sixth fastest time in the event in program history. Their performance earned them a spot on the podium and Second Team All-ACC honors.

Another strong Saturday performance was turned in by senior Noah Walker who scored points for the Panthers once again, this time in the discus. The Wayne, PA native broke his own school record in the discus with a huge PR throw of 188-1 (57.32m) on his final attempt in the prelims to qualify for the finals. That record-breaking throw stood as his best throw of the event, securing a fourth place finish, Second Team All-ACC honors and five team points.

The Pitt men had a pair of student-athletes post fourth place finishes in the finals on Saturday to earn Second Team All-ACC honors. Senior Ade Jones-Roundtree posted a new personal record time of 46.18 seconds in the 400m dash, third fastest in program history, to secure five points for the squad. Junior Matt Wilson finished off an impressive race in the 400m hurdles with a personal record time of 51.97 seconds, the ninth fastest time in program history in the event, to also earn five points for the team.

On the women's side, Eddita Pessima notched Second Team All-ACC honors in the 400m hurdles as she crossed the finish line in fifth place with a new personal record time of 58.72 seconds. Her time marked the fifth fastest in program history in the event and secured four points for the team. Aysha Muhammad and Breanna Phillips also earned points for the Panthers as they finished in seventh and eighth places, respectively, in the finals.

Two more Panthers earned points for the team on Saturday in finals as Greg Lauray cleared a season-best height of 6-10.75 (2.10m) to secure seventh place and 1.5 points while Kollin Smith scored in his second event of the weekend, this time in the 110m hurdle finals as he finished in eighth place in 14.42 seconds, earning one point.

Senior Ally Brunton finished off her impressive weekend with an eighth place finish in the 1500m run to secure a point for her team. The team captain was able to break her own school record for the second time on the weekend as she crossed the finish line in a blistering 4:16.29. Brunton's time was good enough to qualify her for the NCAA East Preliminary Round in Jacksonville.

The men's distance squad had a strong night on Saturday despite not earning All-ACC recognition or points for the team. In the 5000m run, all five competitors for the Panthers were able to post personal best times in the event including a masterful performance by Nick Wolk as he broke his own school record in the event by over 10 seconds. Wolk crossed the finish line in 12^th place in 13:53.02 in one of the fastest 5000m races of the season across the NCAA. Redshirt freshman Jack Miller came in 19^th place with a new PR time of 14:03.61, the second fastest time in school history, while Josh Higgins posted a 29^th place finish in 14:18.54, the fifth fastest in program history. Luke Henseler posted a time of 14:21.35, the eighth best time in program history, while Zach Lefever had a personal best time of 14:28.99.

Medalists
Lydia Bottelier – Silver – High Jump
Making her first career appearance in the ACC Outdoor Championships, Bottelier had the best performance of her young career in the high jump. The Erwinna, PA native cleared the first two heights with ease before setting a new personal record with her third jump as she soared over 5-8.75 (1.75m). The new PR leap also marked the third best jump in program history in the event. Bottelier was unable to clear the next height but earned a second place finish and First Team All-ACC honors for her efforts. She also earned seven points for the team with the impressive leap.

Kollin Smith – Bronze – Long Jump
Smith opened up the action for the Panthers on Thursday afternoon with a strong showing in the long jump. The senior was able to secure a third place finish with a big leap of 24-6.5 (7.48m) en route to earning a spot on the podium for the first time in his career. Smith's jump earned him First Team All-ACC honors for the first time and six points for the squad.

Felix Wolter, Lonzell Feagin, Matt Wilson, Ade Jones-Roundtree – Bronze - Men's 4x400m Relay
In the final event of the meet, the Panthers 4x400m relay quartet of Wolter, Feagin, Wilson and Jones-Roundtree had their best performance of the season in a tightly contested race. After three strong legs to open things up, Jones-Roundtree grabbed the baton, weaved through traffic and took off. The senior posted the second fastest anchor leg (45.70 seconds) to secure a third place finish for the squad as they crossed the finish line in 3:07.59. It marked the sixth fastest relay in program history.

All-ACC Performers
First Team

Lydia Bottelier – High Jump (2^nd place finish)
Kollin Smith – Long Jump (3^rd place finish)

Second Team

Men's 4x400m relay – Felix Wolter, Lonzell Feagin, Matt Wilson, Ade Jones-Roundtree
Noah Walker – Discus (4^th place), Javelin (5^th place)
Matt Wilson – 400m hurdles (4^th place)
Ade Jones-Roundtree – 400m (4^th place)
Eddita Pessima – 400m hurdles (5^th place)

School Record Performances

Ally Brunton – 1500m (4:16.29)
Noah Walker – Discus (188-1, 57.32m)
Nick Wolk – 5000m (13:53.02)
Josh Higgins – 3000m steeplechase (8:45.02)

UP NEXT

The NCAA East Preliminary Round will take place May 27-29 in Jacksonville, FL. The event will be hosted by the University of North Florida at Hodges Stadium.
The top-48 individuals and top-24 relay squads in each event will qualify for the regional meet.
Pitt currently has 15 student-athletes across 19 events who have qualified for the East Regional meet. Five Panthers have qualified in multiple events.

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