BLACKSBURG, Va. / WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The East Carolina track & field team sent athletes to meets at Virginia Tech and the JDL Fast Track on Friday and Saturday. The Pirates found success at both meets with 24 personal or season bests and four top-10 performances in program history.
 
“Both Teams had a very good weekend overall,” said Director of Track & Field Curt Kraft. “We figured that with 2 weeks off, everyone was rested both physically and mentally. We challenged both teams to step it up this weekend, and both teams responded to the challenge.”
 
Two Pirates won their respective events on the weekend, both at the Doc Hale Virginia Tech Meet in Royal Burris and L’Nya Carpenter. For Burris, success on the track has become the norm as the junior took the win in the 200m in a time of 21.28. Carpenter won the triple jump for the women by leaping her way into the record book. Her mark of 12.66m (41-6.5) is tied for third best in program history in the event.
 
“We had numerous people set season bests and lifetime PRs,” continued Kraft. “We made some major improvements towards moving up the AAC List. We have one more meet to prepare for our AAC Indoor Championships. We have to continue to stay focused and remain healthy over these next three weeks.”
 
The ECU distance team showed out once again, this time at the Camel City Invitational. The Pirate men earned five PRs in the 3,000m alone with two of those performances landing in the top 10 in program history, led by J Henry Lyon with the second-best time in ECU history of 8:14.86, while two more registered in what would have been the top 10 entering the day.
 
Jared Harrell, the rising star freshman who previously leapt into the record books in the long jump, joined Carpenter in making history in the triple jump with the eighth best mark in program history of 14.82m (48-7.5).
 
Top-10 Performances
Men
2. Lyon, 3,000m, 8:14.86.
7. Ted Sielatycki, 3,000m, 8:27.10
8. Harrell, Triple Jump, 14.82m (48-7.5)
 
Women
3. Carpenter, Triple Jump, 12.66m (41-6.5)
 
Up Next
The Pirates return to action at the Virginia Beach Invitational and Liberty’s Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational on Feb. 10-11.