Wake Forest Athletics
Photo by: Taylor Jones
Konopelski and Halvorsen Secure Bids to NCAA Championships
5/23/2019 11:15:00 PM | Track and Field
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Danielle Konopelski and Sam Halvorsen punched their tickets to the NCAA Championships and Wake Forest kicked off the NCAA East Region Preliminaries in Jacksonville, Florida on Thursday.
"We had some good and bad luck today," head coach John Hayes said. "Johanna (Schulz) was unfortunately tripped and unable to advance in the 1500m. We know she was very fit and had the capability to make it to the next round. Rachel (Kern) is young. She had a great season and I'm very proud of her as well. So, I think we had a pretty good day, getting two into nationals in Austin (Texas). Hopefully that's a great sign moving forward and we can carry the momentum through the rest of the meet."
Konopelski threw a personal-best 49.50 in the javelin to finish 12th in a packed field of 48 throwers. The top 12 competitors in the event advance to the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, held June 5-8 in Austin, Texas. In the Lonestar state, she'll square off against the other east qualifiers and the 12 qualifiers from the west region. With her latest performance, Konopelski jumps back into second-place all-time in school history in the event.
"Dani (Konopelski) went out there and made a very high-pressure throw," Hayes stated. "She was facing possibly the final throw of her career. She threw a huge personal-best and I'm very proud of her. It's amazing for someone to do that under that kind of pressure. What an accomplishment in her lone season at Wake Forest."
Halvorsen, a 2018 outdoor All-American in the 10k, earned her second straight bid to nationals in the event for the Deacs. Her new personal-best time of 33:32.32 was enough for eighth-place and third all-time in Wake Forest history. Teammate Mimi Smith matched her NCAA Regional best with a time of 34:15.19, good for 17th. She also climbed the Demon Deacons all-time performance list and ranks seventh in the event.
"Sam stepped up once again," Hayes expressed. "She ran a great tactical race and stayed along the rail to put together a great performance."
Competition at the NCAA East Preliminary resumes Friday afternoon. Set to compete for the Demon Deacons is Alva Hicks (women's discus) and Elijah Shalaway (men's javelin) at 12:00pm. Tesia Kempski lines up for the pole vault at 5:30 p.m. while Elise Wright and Hannah Brookover toe the line for the 3k steeplechase at 8:30 p.m.
RESULTS
Women's Javelin
12Q. Danielle Konopelski, 49.50m
37. Rachel Kern, 42.84m
Women's 1500m
39. Johanna Schulz, 4:32.31
Men's 800m
43. Archie Wallis, 1:52.31
Women's 10000m
8Q. Sam Halvorsen, 33:32.32
17. Mimi Smith, 34:15.19
"We had some good and bad luck today," head coach John Hayes said. "Johanna (Schulz) was unfortunately tripped and unable to advance in the 1500m. We know she was very fit and had the capability to make it to the next round. Rachel (Kern) is young. She had a great season and I'm very proud of her as well. So, I think we had a pretty good day, getting two into nationals in Austin (Texas). Hopefully that's a great sign moving forward and we can carry the momentum through the rest of the meet."
Konopelski threw a personal-best 49.50 in the javelin to finish 12th in a packed field of 48 throwers. The top 12 competitors in the event advance to the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, held June 5-8 in Austin, Texas. In the Lonestar state, she'll square off against the other east qualifiers and the 12 qualifiers from the west region. With her latest performance, Konopelski jumps back into second-place all-time in school history in the event.
"Dani (Konopelski) went out there and made a very high-pressure throw," Hayes stated. "She was facing possibly the final throw of her career. She threw a huge personal-best and I'm very proud of her. It's amazing for someone to do that under that kind of pressure. What an accomplishment in her lone season at Wake Forest."
Halvorsen, a 2018 outdoor All-American in the 10k, earned her second straight bid to nationals in the event for the Deacs. Her new personal-best time of 33:32.32 was enough for eighth-place and third all-time in Wake Forest history. Teammate Mimi Smith matched her NCAA Regional best with a time of 34:15.19, good for 17th. She also climbed the Demon Deacons all-time performance list and ranks seventh in the event.
"Sam stepped up once again," Hayes expressed. "She ran a great tactical race and stayed along the rail to put together a great performance."
Competition at the NCAA East Preliminary resumes Friday afternoon. Set to compete for the Demon Deacons is Alva Hicks (women's discus) and Elijah Shalaway (men's javelin) at 12:00pm. Tesia Kempski lines up for the pole vault at 5:30 p.m. while Elise Wright and Hannah Brookover toe the line for the 3k steeplechase at 8:30 p.m.
RESULTS
Women's Javelin
12Q. Danielle Konopelski, 49.50m
37. Rachel Kern, 42.84m
Women's 1500m
39. Johanna Schulz, 4:32.31
Men's 800m
43. Archie Wallis, 1:52.31
Women's 10000m
8Q. Sam Halvorsen, 33:32.32
17. Mimi Smith, 34:15.19
Players Mentioned
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/ Track and Field
/ Track and Field
/ Track and Field
/ Track and Field
/ Track and Field
/ Track and Field
/ Track and Field
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