Photo courtesy of Kaitlyn Cote, Clemson Athletics.
Clemson Men Tie for 4th, Women 5th at ACC Championships
Results (PDF)
CLEMSON, S.C. – Clemson earned a tie for fourth place on the men’s side and a fifth-place finish on the women’s side as the 2021 ACC Indoor Track & Field Championships came to a close on Saturday. Clemson claimed two individual ACC Championships as Fabian Hewitt earned the title in the 60 meters with a 6.65-second dash and Trishauna Hemmings claimed the 200-meter title with a run of 23.12.
In addition to her title in the 200 meters, Hemmings contributed a stellar performance in the final of the women’s 60m hurdles, running 8.09 to place 3rd and improve her mark on Clemson’s all-time list.
The pair of spectacular performances on Saturday made Hemmings the ACC Women’s Track Most Valuable Performer of the meet. Hemmings is the first Tiger to receive the honor indoors since Dezerea Bryant in 2012 and 2013.
“This is all part of the transition that we’re seeing from Trishauna, from when we recruited her out of Hinds CC until now,” said Mark Elliott, Clemson’s Director of Track & Field. “Coach Lennox [Graham] has done an awesome job with her, and you can see there’s still room to grow… To see her do that and now be track MVP in the ACC, it’s a tall task, and she’s deserving of it all.”
Individually, Clemson turned in eight first-team All-ACC (top-three) performances and three second-team All-ACC (fourth-sixth) performances on the day. Giano Roberts (60m hurdles), Terryon Conwell (200m) and Laurie Barton (800m) each earned runner-up finishes.
Clemson’s 4x400m relay teams earned second-team All-ACC honors following their performances to conclude the meet. The men’s relay finished third overall in a time of 3:10.98, while the women’s team finished second in 3:37.41.
“It’s awesome. Our job is to put together a full team; that’s the best way towards a championship. When you have performances coming from every area, that’s when you know you’re heading in the right direction,” remarked Elliott. “We’re proud of the way the team competed, and we’re proud of the way each event group contributed. It’s just a thing to build on throughout the rest of the indoor season…”
In the women’s 800-meter run, Barton became just the second Tiger to break 2:02 indoors, running 2:01.99 on Saturday. Andrea Foster’s 2:03.54 was good for third in the event. Their times rank second and third, respectively, in Clemson history.
Kamryn McIntosh put forth a quality performance in the women’s 400m, crossing the line in 54.14 to place third overall and earn first-team All-ACC honors. This was the tenth All-ACC honor of McIntosh’s storied Clemson career, with it being her first at 400m.
Roje Stona’s fifth-place effort paced the Tigers in the shot put. Stona’s throw of 18.21 meters (59 feet, nine inches) bested his career mark, which ranks fourth in Clemson history. Veronica Fraley set a season’s best in the women’s shot put, throwing 16.00m (52-6).
Harleigh White broke the 13-meter barrier for the first time in her career in the triple jump on Saturday, going 13.03m (42-9) to finish fifth overall.
Clemson will now look ahead to the NCAA Div. I Indoor National Championships. The meet will be held from March 11-13 at the Randal Tyson Track Center at the University of Arkansas.
“The one thing I love about the NCAA championships is that it brings together the best of the best. When you’re there, anyone one through 16 can win…,” added Elliott. “We are heading out with some top-quality athletes, and we’re looking forward to it. Last year we got stopped before it took place, so hopefully this time we can move forward and compete.”
For all of the most up-to-date information regarding Clemson’s Track & Field programs, be sure to reference clemsontigers.com and follow @ClemsonTrackXC on Twitter
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