Thursday, February 21
Blacksburg, Va.
Wake Forest University
vs
ACC Indoor Track and Field Championships
Heppenstall Wins ACC Crown in 800m
2/23/2019 6:56:00 PM | Track and Field
Four Deacs earn awards on championship Saturday
BLACKSBURG, Va. – Robert Heppenstall, a six-time NCAA All-American, blew by the competition to win the men's 800m final for the ACC championship title on Saturday in Blacksburg, Va.
"Well, Rob is very, very fit right now," said head coach John Hayes. "It was something I expected. He's been amazing in practice. The key today was Dakota (Greenwalt). He kept sacrificing himself out there. He didn't take the lead, but he took Rob comfortably through 400 meters. That was huge for us today. That's the teamwork we need here at Wake Forest. We're starting to see the correct mentality of doing things for the team."
His time of 1:46.87 breaks a Rector Fieldhouse facility record. The historic finish puts him in position for a bid to the NCAA Indoor National Championships.
"Running with Dakota, we had a plan to take it through 52.7 or 52.8," said Heppenstall. "It's always good to come away as a champion. All those guys out there are studs. The way I was feeling towards the end of the race, it really gives me confidence to win at the NCAA's."
Wake Forest closed out the championship meet with a 12th-place finish for the women (23pts) and 14th-place for the men with 20.5 points.
Johanna Schulz also earned first team All-ACC honors in the women's mile. Janese Lynch earned a spot on the second team with a fifth-place finish in the women's shot put. Zach Facioni finished the meet with two second team honors for Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons garnered eight conference awards over the course of the three-day meet.
In her first conference championship appearance on the track, Schulz, a graduate student, ran a personal best 4:43.50 to garner a spot on the award podium. Entering the meet, her fastest mile time was 4:47.53, set at the Iowa State Classic earlier this season.
One day removed from the men's 5000m and a second-team All-ACC nod, Facioni earned second team honors once again. This time, he battled to cross the line fifth in the 3000m final at 8:04.56. He was the second freshman to hit the finish line and his time is just over a second shy of the indoor record set by Nolan Swanson in 1999.
Lynch increased her streak of strong performances, going toe-to-toe with some of the nation's top throwers on the conference championship stage. She closes out her 2019 indoor season with five top-three finishes in the shot put, including a win at the JDL DMR Invitational, Feb. 15-16. Her second team All-ACC selection is the first of her career, following an eighth-place finish in the event at the 2018 indoor conference championships.
In the field for the Demon Deacons, Kane Aldrich, a freshman from Naples, Fla., took eighth in the men's pole vault, matching his career-best of 4.85m to cap off his first conference championships appearance.
On the track, Hannah Brookover and Georgia Evans ran in the women's 3000m for Wake Forest. Brookover finished 25th with a time of 9:49:36 while Evans crossed the line 31st at 10:03.52.
Up next, Heppenstall and the Demon Deacons will prepare for the 2019 NCAA Indoor National Championships, held March 8-9 in Birmingham, Alabama.
First Team All-ACC Honors
Johanna Schulz – Women's Mile
Robert Heppenstall – Men's 800m
Second Team All-ACC Honors
Janese Lynch – Shot Put
Zach Facioni – Men's 3000m, 5000m
Alva Hicks - Weight Throw
Sam Halvorsen - Women's 5000m
Alexandria Florent - Women's High Jump
Saturday Results
Women's Mile Final
3. Johanna Schulz – 4:43.50
Men's 800m
Robert Heppenstall – 1:46.87 – Champion
7. Dakota Greenwalt – 1:50.83
Men's 3000m
5. Zach Facioni – 8:04.56
28. Joaquin Martinez De Pinillos - 8:28.47
45. Craig Corti – 8:51.68
Women's 3000m
25. Hannah Brookover – 9:49.36
31. Georgia Evans – 10:03.52
Men's 4x400m Relay
10. Heppenstall, Simmons, Wallis, Greenwalt, Bryant – 3:18.32
Women's 4x400m Relay
9. Delley, Schulz, Hofferber, Johnson, Harding-Delooze – 3:49.75
Final Standings - Women
Final Standings - Men
"Well, Rob is very, very fit right now," said head coach John Hayes. "It was something I expected. He's been amazing in practice. The key today was Dakota (Greenwalt). He kept sacrificing himself out there. He didn't take the lead, but he took Rob comfortably through 400 meters. That was huge for us today. That's the teamwork we need here at Wake Forest. We're starting to see the correct mentality of doing things for the team."
His time of 1:46.87 breaks a Rector Fieldhouse facility record. The historic finish puts him in position for a bid to the NCAA Indoor National Championships.
"Running with Dakota, we had a plan to take it through 52.7 or 52.8," said Heppenstall. "It's always good to come away as a champion. All those guys out there are studs. The way I was feeling towards the end of the race, it really gives me confidence to win at the NCAA's."
Wake Forest closed out the championship meet with a 12th-place finish for the women (23pts) and 14th-place for the men with 20.5 points.
Johanna Schulz also earned first team All-ACC honors in the women's mile. Janese Lynch earned a spot on the second team with a fifth-place finish in the women's shot put. Zach Facioni finished the meet with two second team honors for Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons garnered eight conference awards over the course of the three-day meet.
In her first conference championship appearance on the track, Schulz, a graduate student, ran a personal best 4:43.50 to garner a spot on the award podium. Entering the meet, her fastest mile time was 4:47.53, set at the Iowa State Classic earlier this season.
One day removed from the men's 5000m and a second-team All-ACC nod, Facioni earned second team honors once again. This time, he battled to cross the line fifth in the 3000m final at 8:04.56. He was the second freshman to hit the finish line and his time is just over a second shy of the indoor record set by Nolan Swanson in 1999.
Lynch increased her streak of strong performances, going toe-to-toe with some of the nation's top throwers on the conference championship stage. She closes out her 2019 indoor season with five top-three finishes in the shot put, including a win at the JDL DMR Invitational, Feb. 15-16. Her second team All-ACC selection is the first of her career, following an eighth-place finish in the event at the 2018 indoor conference championships.
In the field for the Demon Deacons, Kane Aldrich, a freshman from Naples, Fla., took eighth in the men's pole vault, matching his career-best of 4.85m to cap off his first conference championships appearance.
On the track, Hannah Brookover and Georgia Evans ran in the women's 3000m for Wake Forest. Brookover finished 25th with a time of 9:49:36 while Evans crossed the line 31st at 10:03.52.
Up next, Heppenstall and the Demon Deacons will prepare for the 2019 NCAA Indoor National Championships, held March 8-9 in Birmingham, Alabama.
First Team All-ACC Honors
Johanna Schulz – Women's Mile
Robert Heppenstall – Men's 800m
Second Team All-ACC Honors
Janese Lynch – Shot Put
Zach Facioni – Men's 3000m, 5000m
Alva Hicks - Weight Throw
Sam Halvorsen - Women's 5000m
Alexandria Florent - Women's High Jump
Saturday Results
Women's Mile Final
3. Johanna Schulz – 4:43.50
Men's 800m
Robert Heppenstall – 1:46.87 – Champion
7. Dakota Greenwalt – 1:50.83
Men's 3000m
5. Zach Facioni – 8:04.56
28. Joaquin Martinez De Pinillos - 8:28.47
45. Craig Corti – 8:51.68
Women's 3000m
25. Hannah Brookover – 9:49.36
31. Georgia Evans – 10:03.52
Men's 4x400m Relay
10. Heppenstall, Simmons, Wallis, Greenwalt, Bryant – 3:18.32
Women's 4x400m Relay
9. Delley, Schulz, Hofferber, Johnson, Harding-Delooze – 3:49.75
Final Standings - Women
| 1 |  |
Miami | 91 |
| 2 |  |
Florida State | 85 |
| 3 |  |
Virginia Tech | 84 |
| 4 |  |
Louisville | 63 |
| 5 |  |
Duke | 60 |
| 6 |  |
NC State | 58 |
| 7 |  |
Clemson | 39 |
| 8 |  |
Notre Dame | 33 |
| 9 |  |
Virginia | 31 |
| 10 |  |
North Carolina | 29 |
| 10 |  |
Syracuse | 29 |
| 12 |  |
Wake Forest | 23 |
| 13 |  |
Georgia Tech | 20 |
| 14 |  |
Pitt | 12 |
| 15 |  |
Boston College | 4 |
Final Standings - Men
| 1 | |
Florida State | 117 |
| 1 | |
Virginia Tech | 117 |
| 3 | |
NC State | 61 |
| 4 | |
Clemson | 51 |
| 5 | |
Virginia | 49 |
| 6 | |
Notre Dame | 41 |
| 7 | |
Syracuse | 33 |
| 8 | |
Georgia Tech | 32 |
| 9 | |
Duke | 30.5 |
| 10 | |
Louisville | 29 |
| 11 | |
Miami | 28 |
| 12 | |
North Carolina | 23 |
| 13 | |
Pitt | 22 |
| 14 | |
Wake Forest | 20.5 |
| 15 | |
Boston College | 6 |
Players Mentioned
/ Track and Field
/ Track and Field
/ Track and Field
/ Track and Field
/ Track and Field
/ Track and Field
/ Track and Field
/ Track and Field
/ Track and Field
/ Track and Field
/ Track and Field
/ Track and Field
Wake Forest Football vs FSU Trailer
Saturday, November 01
Wake Forest Football Davaughn Patterson on ACC Network
Friday, October 31
Wake Forest Field Hockey Inside the Circle: Episode Seven
Thursday, October 30
Football Media Availability (10/29/25)
Wednesday, October 29