Pirates Put Up Solid Performances At Carolina Challenge

Saturday, January 11

Chapel Hill, N.C.

TBA

East Carolina University

Dick Taylor Carolina Challenge

January 11, 2020 | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field, Track & Field

Full Meet Results

GREENVILLE, N.C. – The East Carolina track and field program opened its 2020 indoor season Saturday afternoon with a number of strong performances at the Dick Taylor Carolina Challenge inside the Eddie Smith Fieldhouse on the campus of the University of North Carolina.

ECU faced off against athletes from Campbell, Duke, Hampton, High Point, North Carolina and UNC Greensboro as well as other various individual competitors.

The Pirate women took home a pair of event titles as freshman Melicia Mouzzon and junior Mackenzie Whitaker won the 60-meter dash and 800-meter run respectively. Mouzzon posted a time of 7.42, which is the third fastest mark in school history, while Whitaker crossed the finish line in 2:23.09.

"We had some really good performances to kick off our season," Director of Men's and Women's Track and Field and Cross Country Curt Kraft said. "I was very pleased with everyone's effort and their approach to how they all competed. One of the biggest things I look for as a coach is enthusiasm and effort in everything they do. This is a good starting point, and now we know what we have to work on for the next couple of weeks."

Senior Naomi Whitaker showed well in her first attempt at the 60-meter hurdles this season, winning the preliminaries in a time of 8.69 before finishing second in the finals at 8.68. In the field, junior Brooke Stith captured second place in the long jump, notching a mark of 5.79 meters. Back on the track, Stith, senior D'Nia Freeman, Mouzzon and senior Alyssa Sandy teamed up to claim third place in the 4x400 relay with a time of 3:54.92.

On the men's side, freshman Royal Burris clinched second in the prelims of the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.82 but did not compete in the finals. Junior Blake Mathews finished third in the high jump, clearing 1.97 meters and finishing just outside of the program top 10 list. Freshman Jake Justice took seventh in the pole vault but turned in the eighth-best mark in school history at 4.50 meters.

East Carolina returns to competition in two weeks' time at the Hokie Invitational in Blacksburg, Va.

Hopefully the weather continues to cooperate, and we have some great practices before we head to Virginia Tech," Kraft added. "The goal from one week to the next is to continue to improve, so that we can be physically and mentally prepared for our American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships."