Clemson to Host ACC Indoor Track & Field Championships

CLEMSON, SC – The combined Clemson men’s and women’s track & field program is set to host the 2014 ACC Indoor Championships this Thursday through Saturday at the school’s indoor track facility. The meet features all 15 schools in the ACC. The competition gets underway Thursday with the multi-event and distance medley relay competitions, before a full day of track events and field events Friday and Saturday. ESPN3 is set to stream Friday’s action beginning at 4 p.m., and Saturday from 12 noon through the conclusion of competition.

Clemson, under the direction of first-year Head Coach Mark Elliott, is hosting the event for the third time since the indoor track opened in 2003. The last time the ACC Championships were held in Clemson was 2007, when freshman phenom Jacoby Ford burst onto the scene with a memorable win in the 60-meter dash.

Below are a few notable items on Clemson’s two teams as they prepare for all the action at the #ACCITF this week.

Clemson’s Indoor Track & Field Performance Lists

Tiger Women Four-Time Defending Champions

Clemson’s women have been dominant at the ACC Indoor Championships from 2010 to 2013, winning four straight league titles.
The average margin of victory during the run has been almost 56 points, with the narrowest victory a mere 41.5 points last season.
During the four-year run, Clemson females have accounted for 20 individual and four ACC relay crowns.

Men Hope to Build Off Third-Place Showing From 2013

Clemson’s men put together one of its best performances in recent memory at the 2013 ACC Indoor Championships, finishing third overall. It was Clemson’s best finish since a runner-up showing in 2008.
Three of the active members of Clemson’s team – Tevin Hester, Torian Ware and Shai Carpenter – have been All-ACC performers in the past. Ware finished third in the high jump, while Carpenter took bronze in the triple jump at the 2012 meet, while Hester claimed bronze in the 60 last year.

School Records Falling in 2014

The Tiger women’s team has established a pair of records in 2014 in the 1000 meters and pole vault.
Both school records fell at the prestigious Armory Collegiate Invitational in New York City earlier this month.
Brianna Blanton posted a time of 2:49.73 in the 1000, while Lauren Terstappen upped her own school record in the vault by clearing an indoor personal best 13’5.25″.

Movement Among All-Time Performance Lists

In addition to the two records that have fallen, several athletes have made their marks on Clemson’s all-time performance list in a number of events.
On the men’s side, Tevin Hester has improved his personal best to 6.60 this season and moved into sole possession of sixth in the Clemson record book.
Justin Johnson moved to ninth on the Tigers’ all-time list in the 60 hurdles by running 7.82 in the final at The Armory.
The women’s team has seen three top-10 marks across the 800 meters, two in the 5000 and pole vault, and one apiece in the 400, mile and triple jump.

Hester Latest in Long Line of Tiger Sprint Greats

Tevin Hester hopes to etch his name in stone alongside some of the great Clemson male sprinters this weekend. A 2013 indoor All-American as a freshman, Hester ranks second in the ACC in the 60 dash this winter.
Hester improved his PR to a time of 6.60 when he won the 60 dash at the Armory Collegiate Invitational, the most impressive victory of his young career.
Hester trails only five All-Americans on the school’s all-time 60-meter list. A win would be Clemson’s first in the men’s 60 since Jacoby Ford won the event in 2009.
He is also slated to compete in the 200 dash, where he owns a season-best time of 21.30.

Female Vaulters Own Top Three Marks in School History

Clemson’s most experienced group may be the women’s pole vault, where two seniors and a junior are all vying for scoring positions.
Lauren Terstappen has been the most consistent, clearing 13 feet on multiple occasions. She set the school standard at 13’5.25″ in New York City.
Terstappen has been an All-ACC performer before, at the 2013 indoor meet and 2011 and 2013 outdoor meets.
Caroline Bond cleared a personal best at the Texas A&M Invitational, where she jumped 12’11.5″.

Can I Get an Encore?

Mimi Land is the reigning ACC Indoor Freshman of the Year, and has shown progress in year two as well.
Land is slated to compete in the high jump, long jump and triple jump this week.
Her best rank in the ACC this season is in the sixth in both the high jump and long jump, while she is seventh entering this week’s meet in the triple. She improved her indoor best in the triple jump to 41’4.25″ at Texas A&M.

New Generation of Hurdlers

The event with the most drastic change in 2014 is certainly the high hurdles. Gone are 2013 NCAA Champion Brianna Rollins, All-American Keni Harrison and former ACC Champion Jasmine Edgerson.
The men’s team lost All-American Spencer Adams, and All-ACC mainstay Marcus Maxey.
A new generation of hurdlers is being asked to step up this week, led by Justin Johnson of the men’s team. Johnson ran a personal best 7.82 at The Armory in early February, and has shown vast improvement in 2014.
The women’s high hurdles includes a pair of first-year performers, Anasterasia Terrell and Iana Amsterdam. Both have season bests in the 8.6 range.

4×4 Gets Into Fast Section with Late Effort at Virginia Tech

Clemson’s women have been searching for a speedy combination in the 4×400 relay all season long, and may have found it last weekend at the Virginia Tech Challenge in Blacksburg.
The Tigers boosted their season-best time to 3:38.40 in a runner-up finish and with the effort pushed themselves back into the fastest section.
Clemson is four-time defending champion in the event, but has only one remaining member of the 2013 gold medal group – Nia Fluker. Last weekend, the team did include Brittany Pringley who is a two-time ACC Champion in the event.

Distance Runners Showing Promise

Natalie Anthony and Brianna Blanton from the women’s team, as well as Aaron Ramirez of the men’s squad, have been solid so far this indoor season.
Anthony entered Clemson’s all-time top 10 in the mile, and also improved her personal indoor best in the 5K. She also holds the team’s top time in the 3K this season.
Blanton broke the school record in the 1000 and currently is No. 4 on Clemson’s all-time list in the 800, with a personal best 2:09.79 at Texas A&M on Feb. 15.
Ramirez is coming off a season-best in the mile at Virginia Tech, and ranks just outside Clemson’s all-time top 10 in the 800 meters.

Fountain Drops Pentathlon, Focused on Sprints & Jumps

Clemson senior Whitney Fountain may be a two-time All-ACC performer in the pentathlon, but this week the Bronx native is focusing on her natural event areas of sprinting and long jumping.
Fountain is entered in the 60, 200, long jump and is a likely candidate for the 4×400 as well.
This season, she ranks in the top 10 of the ACC in both short sprints and in the long jump.
Last weekend, she ran a season-best in the 200 and was the leadoff leg for Clemson’s 4×400 relay that established a season-best 3:38.40.

Clemson’s Best Relegated to Spectators’ View

You could make a case that Clemson’s best athletes will be watching from the stands this week.
Brunson Miller and Marlena Wesh, defending ACC Indoor Champions in the men’s and women’s 400 respectively, only have outdoor eligibility remaining. Wesh won the last three ACC indoor titles in the event, actually.
Marcus Brown was All-ACC in the shot put last season, but like Miller and Wesh only has outdoor left.
Natoya Goule transferred from LSU after her event coach, Mark Elliott, took over at Clemson. She is the defending NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Champion in the 800. She is eligible to begin competition for the Tigers next indoor season.
Olivia James enrolled mid-year from Jamaica, and is a former World Junior and World Youth medalist in the 400 dash.
One of Clemson’s top female distance runners, Grace Barnett, is red-shirting this indoor season.