East Carolina Begins 2020 Indoor Season In Chapel Hill

From East Carolina University:

January 10, 2020

GREENVILLE, N.C. – The East Carolina track and field program raises the curtain on a new indoor season Saturday when it makes the short trip over to Chapel Hill for the Dick Taylor Carolina Challenge inside the Eddie Smith Fieldhouse. The meets kicks off at 11 a.m. with the field events while the track portion begins at 12:30 p.m.

The Pirates are slated to face off against athletes from Campbell, Duke, Hampton, High Point, North Carolina and UNC Greensboro.

"We are very excited to kick off our season this weekend in Chapel Hill," Director of Men's and Women's Track and Field and Cross Country Curt Kraft said. "Both men's and women's teams have been working extremely hard all fall to prepare for this 2020 track and field season. As it is every year, the biggest unknown is how well we will compete this weekend after a long Christmas break."

Saturday's meet will showcase many of East Carolina's newcomers, including seven that are scheduled to compete in the 4x400 relay.

As always, these early-season events are preparation for the American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships. This year's league meet is scheduled for Feb. 28-29 in Birmingham, Ala. At the 2019 edition, the women finished in seventh place while the men were eighth. Then sophomore Mackenzie Whitaker earned all-conference honors in the long jump with a second-place result to go along with a 4x400 relay bronze medal performance out of Cedrina Singletary, D'Nia Freeman, Courtney Warner and Shellbi Chapman.

"This will be a good starting point for our teams," Kraft added. "One of the biggest things we need to see throughout the season is improvement each and every weekend."

Dick Taylor Carolina Challenge Entries

• 60m Dash: Rosalynd Hollingsworth, Melicia Mouzzon
• 200m Dash: Leya Essex, Avonti Holt
• 800m Run: Shellbi Chapman, Mackenzie Whitaker
• Mile: Ammah Abdel-Rahman, Cara Gaudioso, Brooke Lindsay
• 3000m Run: Alex Montoya, Mikayla Stoudt, Jenna Strange, Lindsay Yentz
• 60m Hurdles: Skylar Parks, Alyssa Sandy, Brooke Stith
• 4x400 Relay: Two teams
• Pole Vault: Mia Alamo-Worley, Lena Calkins, Sommer Knight, Kelcie Robertson, Savannah Wood
• Long Jump: Brooke Stith

• 60m Dash: Royal Burris, Cameron Moore, Cameron Watkins
• Mile: Haven Honeycutt, Travis Leach, Deric Martinez, Ted Sielatycki
• 3000m Run: Dean Abushouk, Chase Osborne, Nat Romaine, Matthew Russell
• 60m Hurdles: Asa Simmons
• 4x400 Relay: One team
• High Jump: Blake Mathews
• Pole Vault: Jake Justice
• Long Jump: Niejel Wilkins
• Weight Throw: Neil Blanken, Ryan Davis

This press release was produced by East Carolina University. The views expressed here are the author’s own.