Men’s Track & Field First After Day One at ACC Indoor Championships

Feb. 28, 2008

Chapel Hill, NC – Zach Berg overcame a back injury to contribute in a major way on day one at the ACC Indoor Track & Field Championships for Clemson. The red-shirt sophomore, injured for much of the past year, earned All-ACC honors by finishing third in the 35-pound weight throw.

Berg achieved his top mark on the first throw of the afternoon. The product of Tega Cay, SC had a distance of 57’0.75″, which withstood all challenges from 11 competitors Thursday. Berg fouled on three straight attempts before passing on his final throw. His only competition in the event so far this season was in November at the Clemson Opener. Berg is the first Tiger thrower to earn all-conference honors at the league indoor meet since Derek Gilson won the shot put crown in 2004.

Alex Padgett performed well in his first ACC Championships event. The red-shirt freshman finished with a best toss of 55’5.75″, good enough for a fourth-place finish. He will also compete later in the weekend in the shot put.

Miller Moss sits third in the overall standings after four events of the heptathlon. He is in great position heading into the final three events, which begin Friday at noon with the 55m hurdles. Moss totaled 2,952 points on the first day, which is more than he had earlier this season after four events at the JRF Multi-Event Challenge. He went on to win that competition in January.

Moss got things off to a fast start in the 55m dash. The Sumter, SC native posted a strong time of 6.62 in the event, second only to Roland DaSilva of Miami. He then was third in the long jump with a mark of 21’4.25″, before posting a personal best in the shot put as he recorded a toss of 40’4.25″. Moss ended the afternoon with another personal best, a clearance of 6’5.5″ in the high jump.

Mike Feathers is also in good position heading into Friday’s events. The New York native has a total of 2,785 points and is sixth in the standings. Feathers’ top event was easily the shot put on Thursday. He posted a personal best when he recorded a throw of 44’4″. His mark was fourth-best in that event among the field of 12 competitors.

Joey O’Rourke is eighth in the heptathlon with 2,675 points, while freshman Conner Webb has a total of 2,560 through four events.

The men’s team will return to action Friday, where the prelims for the bulk of the running events will be held. The first event will be the long jump at 12:00 PM, along with the continuation of the heptathlon.