NC State track and field competes in Doc Hale Invitational

For the third time this season, NC State track and field made the trip to Blacksburg, Virginia to compete in the Doc Hale Invitational hosted by Virginia Tech on Friday, Feb. 2 and Saturday, Feb. 3. The Pack mostly competed in field events and turned in eight top-10 finishes over the two days of competition. 

Day one

NC State only had two athletes competing on the track — sophomore Lance Patterson in the men’s 400-meter and freshman Jordyn Parker in the women’s 60-meter prelims. Patterson clocked in at 51.25 seconds to finish 18th. Parker failed to advance to the 60-meter finals after placing 15th with a time of 7.80 seconds.

The red-and-white fared better in the field, where the team had four athletes place in the top-10. Graduate student Jirah Sidberry led the charge by earning a third-place finish in the women’s long jump with a mark of 6.06 meters. Junior Zahra Bichara and freshman Jayda Hunter also competed in the event, tallying seventh and 18th place finishes, respectively. Hunter’s mark of 5.57 meters was a new personal best. 

Senior Makala Wright, junior Sydney Freeman and sophomore Clara Willard all competed in the women’s weighted throw. Wright led the Pack with a throw of 18.86 meters that was good enough for seventh place. Meanwhile, Freeman set a new personal best with a mark of 17.67 meters and placed 12th. In the men’s weighted throw, sophomore Nathan Lau threw 17.77 meters to take tenth place. 

Day two

On day two, The Pack only competed in field events, with athletes participating in the men’s and women’s high jump, the women’s triple jump and the men’s and women’s shot put. Sophomore Kyzaiah Stone took home the Wolfpack’s only first-place finish of the weekend in the men’s high jump with a leap of 2.15 meters. Freshman Judd Armstrong also competed in the event, finishing in a tie for sixth with a personal-best mark of 2.05 meters. Freshman McKenna Moritz placed 11th in the women’s high jump with a jump of 1.62 meters. 

Hunter notched a top-10 finish in the women’s triple jump, leaping 12.42 meters to place seventh. Sophomores Ta’Honny Exum and Katie Horne took 17th and 22nd, respectively, in the women’s shot put. In the men’s shot put, Lau finished 10th with a mark of 14.99 meters. 

Next up, NC State is set to travel south to Clemson, South Carolina to compete in the Tiger Paw Invitational. The meet is scheduled to begin on Friday, Feb. 9 and conclude on Saturday, Feb. 10.