Feb. 18, 2005

Results

CHAPEL HILL --- Rob Bates broke his own school record in winning the men's heptathlon to lead the University of North Carolina track and field team in day two of competition in the Atlantic Coast Conference Indoor Championships Saturday at the Eddie Smith Field House in Chapel Hill. Bates' score of 5,404 points was 103 better than runner-up Brent Hobbs of Clemson.

Entering the 1,000-meter run, the final event of the competition, Bates trailed Hobbs by 45 points. But Bates finished the race in 2:53.45, more than 15 seconds better than Hobbs, to become the first men's ACC champion of the meet for UNC. Bates' score currently ranks sixth in the nation in the heptathlon and is an NCAA provisional qualifying mark.

In what was one of the most exciting events of the day, Sheena Gordon reached an NCAA automatic qualifying mark on her way to a runner-up finish in the women's high jump. Gordon cleared 6-1 1/2, her best effort so far in 2005, and was bested only by defending NCAA champion Chaunte Howard of Georgia Tech. With Howard having cleared 6-2 3/4, Gordon missed on her first two attempts at the height. On her final attempt, it appeared that Gordon had cleared the bar to extend the competition. But the bar would not stay up, and Howard defended her title with an ACC meet record mark.

Other scorers on day two included Carol Henry, who earned All-ACC honors with a third place finish in the 5,000. Henry held off a late charge from Duke's Laura Stanley to earn six points for the Tar Heels, crossing the finish line in 16:33.03. Noah Cosby picked up five points in the men's pole vault, clearing 16-4 3/4 to finish fourth. Tatyana Kirichenko earned 1.5 points with a seventh place finish in the high jump. Carolina also got scoring performances from each of its distance medley relays. The men's DMR was third in 9:58.74, while the women were fourth in 11:49.90.

In preliminary action, a number of Tar Heels advanced to Saturday finals. On the men's side, Bobby Moffat and Clay Ragan each advanced in the 800. Moffat was fourth in 1:53.60, while Ragan was fifth in 1:54.03. Kevin Watson and Bates advanced in the 60-meter hurdles, with Watson placing fourth in 7.97 and Bates ranking eighth in 8.13.

Erin Donohue will lead the women on Saturday, as she qualified for finals in the 800 and the mile. The senior was first in the mile in 4:49.75 and sixth in the 800 in 2:13.95. Cassie King will join her in the mile, as she qualified eighth in 4:53.47. A pair of Tar Heels will run along side Donohue in the 800. Danielle Rodgers had the fastest time of the prelims, finishing in 2:10.93, while Georgia Kloss was fifth in 2:13.89. Lindsay Bond and Porscha Dobson each advanced in the 60-meter hurdles. Bond was third in 8.36, while Dobson was seventh in 8.49.

With six events completed, the Carolina women are in second place with 30.5 points. Miami leads the meet with 48 points. On the men's side, the Tar Heels are third with 33 points through six events. Clemson holds the top spot with 58, while Florida State in second with 40. Competition in the ACC Championships concludes Saturday. Action begins at 11 a.m. with the women's shot put.