Demon Deacons Battle Through Day Two of ACC Indoor Track and Field Championships

Friday, March 13

Fayetteville, AR

Wake Forest University

NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships

Demon Deacons Battle Through Day Two of ACC Indoor Track and Field Championships

2/27/2026 9:46:00 PM | Track and Field

Seniors Paul Specht and Elizabeth secured qualification for the men’s and women’s mile finals, while freshman Natalia Issler came from behind to book her spot in the women’s 800 meter finals.

By: KJ Smith

BOSTON – Three Demon Deacons earned their spot into the ACC finals during the preliminary rounds as the Wake Forest Track and Field program concluded their second day of competition at the ACC Indoor Track and Field Championships on Friday evening at the TRACk at New Balance.

After anchoring the men's distance medley relay team to a come from behind win on Thursday night, senior Paul Specht continued his stellar start to the ACC Championships by earning a spot in the men's mile finals. The Sindelfingen, Germany native finished in first place in his heat with a time of 4:00.56 to earn automatic qualification into Saturday's final.

On the women's side, senior Elizabeth Whaley secured her spot in the women's mile final after finishing her prelim heat in 4:38.10.

Freshman Natalia Issler closed out the day for the Deacs by grabbing automatic qualification for the women's 800 meter final in a photo finish. The Horgen, Switzerland native battled from behind to clock a person-best time of 2:05.38 and secure second place in her heat.

Notable Results
Men's Mile

Paul Specht - 4:00.56

Women's Mile

Elizabeth Whaley - 4:38.10

Women's 800m

Natalia Issler - 2:05.38

All-ACC Honorees
First Team All-ACC

Seren Rodgers (Women's Pentathlon)
Men's DMR (Shipsey, Shelbert, Riley, Specht)

Second Team All-ACC

Charlie Sprott (Men's 5000m)
Brooke Wilson (Women's 5000m)

2025-26 Indoor Track and Field Top-10 Marks in School History

Men's 400m
- 5th - Ryan Harper (48.21)
Men's 600m
- 6th - Max Marino (1:20.96)
Men's 800m
- 7th - Paul Specht (1:49.34)
- 10th - Wes Shipsey (1:50.61)
Men's Mile
- 1st - Paul Specht (3:52.95)
- 5th - Bryce Gilmore (3:59.00)
- 6th - Wes Shipsey (3:59.68)
Men's 3000m
- 2nd - Aurelien Radja (7:45.86)
- 5th - Bryce Gilmore (7:50.89)
Men's 5000m
- 10th - Bryce Gilmore (13:51.24)
Men's DMR
- 5th - Shipsey, Shelbert, Riley and Specht (9:35.29)
Women's 60m
- 4th - Seren Rodgers (7.86)
Women's 60m Hurdles
- 4th - Seren Rodgers (8.63)
Women's 200m
- 6th - Seren Rodgers (25.20)
Women's 800m
- 4th - Natalia Issler (2:05.38)
- 6th - Amy Weybrecht (2:08.35)
Women's 1000m
- 2nd - Amy Weybrecht (2:46.45)
- 4th - Victoria Rodriguez (2:47.24)
Women's Mile
- 1st - Elizabeth Whaley (4:35.35)
- 7th - Angelina Perez (4:41.24)
Women's 3000m
- 2nd - Angelina Perez (9:01.56)
- 3rd - Brooke Wilson (9:05.73)
Women's 5000m
- 1st - Angelina Perez (15:41.86)
Women's DMR
- 1st - Weybrecht, Rodgers, Issler and Whaley (11:06.15)
Women's High Jump
- 10th - Seren Rodgers (1.65m)
Women's Long Jump
- 4th - Seren Rodgers (6.06m)
- 8th - Annie Thorkell (5.85m)
Women's Pentathlon
- 3rd- Seren Rodgers (3,989 points)
Women's Shot Put
- 9th - Casey Sullivan (14.44m)
Women's Triple Jump
- 3rd - Annie Thorkell (12.05m)

From the Staff
"Our athletes and staff are doing a tremendous job putting us in position to score. Today, we advanced Paul [Specht] to the men's mile final, Elizabeth [Whaley] to the women's mile final and Natalia [Issler] to the women's 800 meter final. We've created some great opportunities heading into tomorrow in these events, as well as the women's shot put and the men's and women's 3000 meter. We're looking forward to putting some more points on the board." - Director of Track & Field and Cross Country John Hayes

Up Next
The Demon Deacons will close competition at the ACC Indoor Track and Field Championships tomorrow afternoon.

All of the action will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra, with events beginning at 11 a.m.

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