UNC track athletes headed to NCAA nationals

The North Carolina track and field teams concluded the NCAA East preliminary championships on Saturday night with three more individuals and a relay team qualifying for the NCAA outdoor championships. The Tar Heels added Lianne Farber and Annie LeHardy to the group that’s going to the championships while Ceo Ways tacked on another individual event to compete in while helping the 1600m relay team qualify.

Farber was the first Tar Heel to claim a spot in Eugene on Saturday. Farber finished third in her heat of the 1,500 with an easy time of 4:18.81. Farber also competed in the women’s 5,000 but wasn’t able to make the top-12 in that event.

Though Farber didn’t qualify in the 5,000, Annie LeHardy did. The senior continued her impressive season by taking third in her heat of the event and automatically qualifying with a time of 16:08.88. LeHardy cruised into third place in her heat without a sweat and will finish her collegiate career in Eugene.

Ceo Ways anchored the men’s 1600m relay, taking UNC from fifth to third in the last leg to secure a position in Eugene. R.J. Alowonle, Javonte Lipsey and Kenny Selmon covered the other three legs. Each member of the 1600m relay team will also compete in Eugene in an individual event.

N.C. State: The Wolfpack qualified four more athletes for the NCAA championships. Alexis Perry (100m hurdles), Graham Crawford (1500m), Erika Kemp (5000m) and Jacob Thomson (5000m) all qualified in their respective events.

This is Perry’s second NCAA championships qualification during 2015 and her first for the outdoor season. The Durham native qualified in the long jump for the Indoor Championships and earned second-team All-America honors.

Duke: The Blue Devils’ women’s 1600m squad set the school record but came up just short of qualifying for the NCAA championships. Elizabeth Kerpon, Lauren Hansson, Madeline Kopp and Maddy Price combined for a 3:32.27 clocking.

Duke: Freshman Jake Shuman fired a one-under 71 to pace Duke to a nine-over 297 in the third round of the NCAA championship in Bradenton, Fla. The Blue Devils are tied for 24th with play suspended due to lightning late in the third round.

The top 15 teams along with the nine lowest individuals not on those teams advance to Monday's fourth round of stroke play.

N.C. State: David Cooke was named to the Division I PING All-Region Team. He is one of 155 players across six regions to earn the honor this season.

UNC: Carter Jenkins, Ben Griffin and William Register were named to the Division I PING All-Region team.

This story was originally published May 31, 2015 at 7:54 PM with the headline "UNC track athletes headed to NCAA nationals."