April 21, 2000

DURHAM, N.C. -- The North Carolina men's and women's track teams took the lead after the first day of competition at the 2000 Atlantic Coast Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships being held at Duke University in Durham, N.C.

The Tar Heel men were led by a pair of competitors that captured conference championships in their respective events. UNC sophomore Ian Douglas was the winner of the men's shot put with his toss of 56' 8.50", winning by just under four feet. Sal Gigante was the other individual champion for the Tar Heels, as he won the discus with a throw of 175' 5".

Other individual champions on the men's side included Clemson sophomore Ryan Lewis, who won the pole vault with a height of 16' 4.75" and NC State sophomore Chris Dugan, who was the victor in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:04.17, finishing just under three seconds ahead of fellow Wolfpack distance runner Aaron Saft. Joining Dugan as an ACC Champion from NC State was senior Chan Pons, who won the 10,000 meter run with a time of 29:46.03. Virginia's Brian Kollar was crowned the ACC Champion in the javelin after his throw of 233' 0", which was over 10 inches better than the next competitor. In other field event action, Florida State junior Joe Allen won the long jump with a leap of 24' 10.50". Clemson freshman Malcolm Reynolds was the winner of the high jump with a height of 6' 10.75".

On the women's side, the day was highlighted by Duke junior Jillian Schwartz, whose winning height of 12' 3.50" in the pole vault set a new ACC meet record. Her height was matched by second-place finisher Joana Costa of Clemson. The height earned both provisional qualifications to the NCAA Championships. North Carolina had a pair ACC Champions as Jill Pedretti won the discus with a throw of 170' 1" and fellow Tar Heel Ola Sesay was the ACC Champ in the long jump with a leap of 20' 5".

In the 3,000 meter event, senior Janelle Kraus of Wake Forest captured the second ACC title of her career in that race with a time of 9:30.63, which is a provisional qualifying time. NC State junior Lindsey Rogers was the ACC Champ in the 10,000 meter run with a time of 34:19.27. The meet will conclude tomorrow with the final day of competition beginning at 9:00 a.m. at Duke's Wallace Wade Stadium.

Day 1 ACC Men's Team Scores

1. North Carolina  60

2. Florida State   50

3. NC State        49

4. Clemson         46.33

5. Wake Forest     27

6. Georgia Tech    25.67

7. Virginia        25

8. Duke            18

9. Maryland         8

2000 ACC Men's Indiv. Champions
10,000 Meters - Chan Pons, NC State
3,000 M Steeplechase - Chris Dugan, NC State
High Jump - Malcolm Reynolds, Clemson
Long Jump - Joe Allen, Florida State
Shot Put - Ian Douglas, North Carolina
Discus - Sal Gigante, North Carolina
Javelin - Brian Kollar, Virginia
Pole Vault - Ryan Lewis, Clemson

Day 1 ACC Women's Team Scores

1. North Carolina 54

2. Virginia       32

3. Florida State  22

4. Georgia Tech   21

5. NC State       19.50

6. Duke           19

7. Wake Forest    10

8. Clemson         9

9. Maryland        8.50

2000 ACC Women's Indiv. Champions
3,000 Meters - Janelle Kraus, Wake Forest
Long Jump - Ola Sesay, North Carolina
Discus - Jill Pedretti, North Carolina
Pole Vault - Jillian Schwartz, Duke
10,000 Meters - Lindsey Rogers, NC State