3 UNC Athletes Finish as National Runners-Up at NCAA Track & Field Championships

Three different Tar Heels – shot putter Tommy Kitchell and runners Makayla Paige and Ethan Strand – finished as the national runners-up in their respective events at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Oregon last week.

Kitchell, competing in his last collegiate event, achieved a new personal best and a school record with a 20.74-meter throw on his last attempt of the championships. Prior to the throw, Kitchell had been sitting in fifth place, which would have matched his career-best finish at the championships. With his second-place finish – the best at the NCAA Championships by any UNC shot putter in history – Kitchell earned first team All-America honors.

On the track, Strand also earned All-America honors by finishing second in the 1,500-meter race with a time of 3:47.33, just .07 seconds behind the champion. Strand also ran in the 5,000-meter race, finishing 19th. Teammate Colton Sands finished 12th.

In the women’s 800 meters, Paige took home the silver medal with a 1:58.97 in the fastest 800-meter race in the history of the NCAA Championships. Every finalist ran the fastest time that a runner in that position had ever achieved in championship history. The feat earned Paige first team All-America honors for the second time in her career and improved upon her 14th-place finish at the 2024 championships.

Overall, UNC’s men’s team finished tied for 17th, its highest team finish at the outdoor championships since 2007. The women’s team finished tied for 34th.

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications

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3 UNC Athletes Finish as National Runners-Up at NCAA Track & Field Championships

Three different Tar Heels – shot putter Tommy Kitchell and runners Makayla Paige and Ethan Strand – finished as the national runners-up in their respective events at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Oregon last week. Kitchell, competing in his last collegiate event, achieved a new personal best and a school record with […]

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