Track & Field
ACC Track and Field Championships – Participant/Coach’s Quotes
Florida State Head Coach Bob Braman
On Women’s Team Championship…
“This is a good job. The women have won the triple crown now because they took cross country, indoor and outdoor titles this year. So, that was huge. They had some injuries, and they fought through some things. But there’s no doubt about the way the women came in here today, and they wanted this one bad. I think there’s only been two or three teams that have won the triple crown, so that’s pretty impressive to join that list. I’m really happy for the ladies because we’re young, and we’re going to be good for a few years to come.” I’m really happy to get this win, and this feels great.”
Virginia Head Coach Jason Vigilante
On Men’s Team Co-Championship…
“It’s an honor for us to compete against so many great track & field teams in this conference, particularly Florida State, whose had such a history at the NCAA level and the championships. We are delighted with our performance. We knew if we came and competed as hard as we could, then we’d be satisfied with the outcome. Obviously, tying for the championship is a big step for this program, and I’m tremendously happy and so proud at how our team has represented itself. We got it done, and we’re looking forward to the rest of the season and things to come.”
Florida State Head Coach Bob Braman
On Men’s Team Co-Championship…
“We’ve won 13 of the last 14 Indoor and Outdoor ACC Championships. So, we’ve only had one hiccup, so to speak. We just survived today. Virginia’s distance runners really ran great. Coach Vigilante’s a new coach, and a regular great guy. We’ve just got to be ready for Virginia and Virginia Tech to be that close to us all the time. If we come to this meet as fired up as our women were, then hopefully it wouldn’t come down to the mile relay. We’ve won three national championships. Our kids have to show more respect to the level of competition here [in the ACC], and I think today was a serious wake-up call.
Women’s Heptathlon Champion Quotes
Gabrielle Gioia – North Carolina
“It feels good to win because it gets us off to a great start. We really wanted to come out and get a team title so this is a good way to get us going in that direction.”
Women’s Shot Put Championship Quotes
Lawanda Henry – NC State
“It feels good. I’ve been struggling like all year. So it feels good to come home with the gold this year.”
Women’s Hammer Throw Champion Quotes
Dorotea Habazin – Virginia Tech
“I’m Not really satisfied, because I expected more. I was expecting to break my own record for ACC’s. But I have been getting better each meet and have a nice progression. I think I’ll be good for the rest of the season.”
Men’s Hammer Throw Champion Quotes
Marcel Lomnicky – Virginia Tech
“I feel pretty good about week three. Hopefully my performance will get better next meet. I’ll train hard and we’ll see.”
Women’s Long Jump Champion Quotes
Kimberly Williams – Florida State
“It was a pretty good day. It was kind of windy. I just went out there and did my best. I want to thank my teammates that were cheering for me and my coach that was out there looking out for me.”
Women’s Javelin Champion Quotes
Meghan Briggs – Virginia
“I think it was a great start and a great throw that was consistent heading into regionals and nationals. Having a teammate with me was great.”
Men’s Javelin Champion Quotes
Matthias Treff – Virginia Tech
“It was cool. It was my first competition of the season. I pulled out a P.R.so I’m happy about that.”
Men’s High Jump Champion Quotes
Jerome Miller – Georgia Tech
“I feel great about winning, but it’s kind of bittersweet. I didn’t jump anywhere near the height I wanted to jump. I didn’t even jump anywhere near my P.R. So I’m going to have to go back to practice and work on that, but I’ll take the win. A gold medal is a gold medal”
Women’s 10,000-meter Champion Quotes
Natalie Sherbak – Virginia Tech
“It was a good win. Ijust wanted to go out there and run in rhythm, because the field ran a great race. They made me work for it at the end. I’m just excited to win and come back, winning this back 2 back. So yea it was fun, I had a good time.”
Men’s 10,000-meter Champion Quotes
Steeve Gabart – Florida State
“It was big for me to be able to come back home and get a win in an event that’s not really what Miami people are known for, a distance event. So that was really big for me.”
Men’s Decathlon Champion Quotes
Mateo Sossah – North Carolina
“This win means a lot to me. I wanted to compete in indoor and score big for the team but I pulled my hamstring, so I wasn’t able to do anything. I worked really hard to be back and get a really big score for indoor, but like I said I got hurt and couldn’t compete. So I really wanted to get a big score today. I felt like I’ve had the potential to but haven’t had the opportunity to do so. I’m really happy about this.”
Women’s High Jump Champion Quotes
Patience Coleman – North Carolina
“It started off kind of rough but it came together. I tried to stay focused, tried to stay positive and it came out right. I’m glad it did.”
Men’s Shot Put Champion Quotes
Steve Marcelle – Georgia Tech
“In the finals Florida State’s red shirt freshman Michael Putman had a pretty nice throw and put a little pressure on me. I had a good throw and beat him on the last one.”
Men’s Long Jump Champion Quotes
Jade Ellis – Duke
“It was good that this came at the right time for me. I felt good warming up today, everything just clicked today.”
Women’s Steeplechase Champion Quotes
Lydia Willemse – Florida State
“It’s really awesome to have the win my senior year. It’s my year for ACC’s I guess and for the steeple too. I’m really happy. All the girls worked really hard in the race and my coach and my teammates have been helping me a lot. It’s just awesome.”
Men’s Steeplechase Champion Quotes
Ryan Mcdermott – Duke
“Its a great win. It’s the first time doing nine minutes in the steeple, which has been my goal since junior year of high school. It was a big accomplishment for me. As for this win, I didn’t think coming into this that I would be able to do it. There were some good runners that were entered but didn’t end up running, so I had no problem taking a win.
Women’s Pole Vault Champion Quotes
Amy Fryt – Duke
”I feel great. It was a great day to pole vault. The conditions were great and the competition is always great.”
Women’s Triple Jump Quotes
Kimberly Williams – Florida State
“I’m happy with the win, but I wanted to go further, but the breeze kept messing up everything. But, I’m thankful for the win. Hopefully, next year I can come out and do better. And I want to say `good job’ to my competitors as well.”
Women’s Discus Throw Quotes
Brittany Pryor – Virginia Tech
“I’m really happy just being able to help out my team. This is my final competition for ACC’s, and I just want to take it one meet at a time.”
Women’s 4×100 Quotes
Kristin Marcus – Florida State
“I feel good. I still feel like we could have done better, but overall I’m happy with the win. We did what we had to do, and it feels good to get the win.”
Men’s 4×100 Quotes
Maurice Mitchell – Florida State
“I feel really good. We didn’t have our fastest leg, and we had to get off to a good start. It definitely feels good to win.”
Women’s 1500M Run Quotes
Pilar Mcshine – Florida State
“This win feels good. The race wasn’t easy, but I came up on top with the win, and it feels great.”
Men’s 1500M Run Quotes
Billy Berlin – Virginia Tech
“I’m so happy. This is the one I’ve wanted for so long–the 1500 win. To finally win it my senior year is a great way to go out.”
Women’s 100M Hurdles Quotes
Queen Harrison – Virginia Tech
“I feel really good. This is only my second 100 hurdle race of the season. So, it feels really good to get a win, especially with my teammate [Kristi Castlin] coming in second feels really good for Virginia Tech.
Men’s 110M Hurdles Quotes
Adams Abdulrazaaq – Virginia
“Oh man, it feels good, and I worked really hard for this. My coach always gets on me, and to get the win feels good. It’s not all about the first day, you know. The first day gets you to the second day and the finals, and you just have to better on the second [day] than you did on the first [day]. And we got it done.”
Women’s 400M Dash Quotes
Britany St. Louis – Florida State
“It’s all good. I know it could have been harder, but I have faith and with that, victory is mine today. I did exactly what I wanted to do, and it paid off.”
Men’s 400M Dash Quotes
Michael Bingham – Wake Forest
“Oh man, at ACC’s the main thing is to get the `W’. It’s still kind of early in the season, and it’s just about placing, and I’ll worry about time later.”
Women’s 100M Dash Quotes
Murielle Ahoure – Miami
“It feels pretty good. It was kind of tough running into a headwind, but I’m still happy.”
Men’s Triple Jump Quotes
Alphonso Jordan – Georgia Tech
“I’m happy to get the win. My goal was to come in here and get the first jump in to qualify for the final, and then I was able to keep it going to get the win. So, I feel good.”
Men’s Discus Throw Quotes
Yemi Ayeni – Virginia
“Winning feels great. It’s my third time in a row. This is my last year, and it feels good to finish all my four years here with a championship. So, it was good competition, and I think everybody competed well. But I was able to do it again.
Men’s 100M Dash Quotes
Jacoby Ford – Clemson
“I feel really good about the win. I just wanted to come out and execute my ritual really well. We talked about trying to get a sweep in the 100, and that’s exactly what we did.”
Women’s 800M Run Quotes
Dominique Jackson – North Carolina
“To get this win, I feel great. We were all-out running, smart, and putting myself out front … and it was good enough to get the win. And I was able to do what I wanted to do, and get the win.”
Men’s 800M Run Quotes
Ryan Witt – Virginia Tech
“Oh, this is great. I don’t think people really expected me to win [ACC] Indoors, and I was able to come out here and show that I can win [ACC] Outdoors against some good competitors. It feels good.”
Women’s 400M Hurdles Quotes
Queen Harrison – Virginia Tech
“I felt really, really good out there today. The 400-meter hurdles is kind of my secondary event, so for me to come out here and get a `W’ is just great. And I think this was a really good time so early in the season. So, I’m proud of myself, and happy to get the win.”
Men’s 400M Hurdles Quotes
Javier Garcia Tunon – Florida State
“It was good because our team needed a couple of points. We didn’t get some points we thought we were going to have, and this really helps out the team. I feel good about being able to do my part.”
Women’s 200M Dash Quotes
Murielle Ahoure – Miami
“I’m happy, but it was, again, very windy. I just came out there, and had a good day–first place.”
Men’s 200M Dash Quotes
Charles Clark – Florida State
“Well, just coming out of the box I wanted to control the race. That’s exactly what I did. I wanted to maintain speed throughout the race. I thank God for helping me to perform well today and that’s what’s good.”
Men’s Pole Vault Quotes
Yavgeniy Olhovsky – Virginia Tech
“A win is always nice. I wanted to jump a little higher, but it’s okay. I think I made up for [ACC] Indoors today. The wind was a little hard, but I managed to get the win. I am ready to try and do better at Regionals, and then hopefully Nationals.”
Women’s 5000 Meter Run Quotes
Susan Kuijken – Florida State
“I wasn’t as fast, I think, from my first lap to the end, but it was good enough though, I guess. It feels good, and that’s all I can say.”
Men’s 5000 Meter Run Quotes
William Mulherin – Virginia Tech
“I feel great, actually. My goal was to be Top 5, maybe even Top 4, and I was able to get the win. Florida State is really, really tough, and I knew I had to get in front. With a few meters to go, I saw I had a shot to win it. I just paced myself, and kept my composure, ready to try and win the race.”
Women’s 4×400 Quotes
Keyla Smith – Florida State
“It was just a great results of teamwork. All of us were tired; we had injuries. We just ran for each other. We were running for each other.”
Men’s 4×400 Quotes
Kevin Williams – Florida State
“The race was good. We had to be focused, and we were determined to come out here and win this. We won it, and everybody ran well. Virginia got third place, and Wake Forest got second. So, they ran well, but we were focused today, and ran our race together.”
