Two Tar Heels brought home hardware from the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in Virginia Beach last weekend. UNC’s Ethan Strand won the 3,000-meter national title while Makayla Paige won the 800-meter title.

 

Strand’s race was highly competitive, featuring nine of the 10 fastest collegiate times ever. Strand, a senior from Alabama, finished with a time of 7:52.03 to win the title. He was one of three Tar Heels to finish in the top 15, with teammates Parker Wolfe and Colton Sands finishing sixth and 15th. Wolfe’s top 10 finish guaranteed him first team All-America status.

Paige set a facility record in her race with a time of 2:00.39, starting with the lead and never giving it up. The senior from Massachusetts is the first Tar Heel woman to win a title at the NCAA Indoor Championships since 2018, while Strand is the first Tar Heel man to do so since 2003.

Shot putter Tommy Kitchell also earned first team All-America status during the championships, finishing in eighth place.

As a team, the UNC men finished tied for eighth place at the championships. It’s the second time the men’s team has posted back-to-back Top 10 finishes. The women’s team finished 23rd, marking the first time since 2003 both the men’s and women’s teams have finished in the Top 25.

 

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications

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