Palmer Repeats as 400m Hurdle Champion

Sunday, May 15

Tallahassee, Fla.

All Day

Pitt

ACC Outdoor Championship Meet

Palmer Repeats as 400m Hurdle Champion

5/15/2016 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field

May 15, 2016

Complete Results

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - University of Pittsburgh track standout Desmond Palmer highlighted the 2016 ACC Outdoor Championships as the junior successfully defended his title in the 400 meter hurdles Sunday night at the Mike Long Track on the campus of Florida State. The Panthers also earned silver medals in the men's 110 meter hurdles, 400 meter dash and the 4x400 meter relay.

"Overall it was a good day," head coach Alonzo Webb said. "We had a great weekend and I'm really proud of the way the team responded, however it didn't end quite like we wanted it to. We wanted to win the 4x400 meter relay, especially for the seniors."

Palmer, the defending 400 meter hurdle ACC champion and school-record holder, ran a season-best 49.66, passing Kenny Selmon (50.05) and Javonte Lipsey (50.91) of North Carolina to win the title. He also earned silver in the 110 meter hurdles after posting a personal-best 13.83.

"It feels great to represent my university and to see all my work come to fruition," Palmer said.

Palmer also ran the final leg of the 4x400 meter relay, helping seniors Donnell Taylor and Chris Tate and junior Brylan Slay run a career-best 3:06.23 en route to a silver medal. The team fell short to North Carolina who finished in 3:06.03.

Tate will also take home an individual silver after running an impressive personal-best 45.99 in the 400 meter dash. He finished just behind Ceo Ways of North Carolina (45.86). The senior just missed breaking the school record of 45.09 which was set by Brycen Spratling in 2014.

Freshman Grant Jones got things started for the Panthers in the afternoon, placing fifth overall in the javelin. In his second attempt of the preliminary round, Jones recorded a 60.68m which would push him through to the finals. His first throw of the finals went 63.27m, which would be enough for a fifth place finish. Jones also became the first Panther to score on the men's side with four points.

Freshman Gillian Schriever and senior Hillary Boxheimer finished fourth (16:43.38) and eighth (16:47.18), respectively, in the women's 5,000 meter run. Their top finishes boosted the Pitt women to 29 points.

Team Results

The Pitt women finished 13^th overall with a program-high 29 points since joining the ACC. The men finished 10^th with 43 points.

Panthers Contributing Points

The Pitt women's 4x100 meter relay team finished eighth with a season-best time of 45.99 … Junior Ashad Johnson-Conley finished eighth in the men's 110 meter hurdles with a PR time of 14.45 … Senior Donnell Taylor placed sixth in the men's 400 meter dash with a time of 47.47 … Sophomore Alyssa Wise finished seventh in the women's 100 meter dash with a time of 11.808 … In the women's 400 meter hurdles, junior Laila Ismail finished sixth (1:00.40) and sophomore Morgan Harvey finished eighth (1:01.00) … Senior Chris Tate finished eighth in the men's 200 meter dash with a time of 21.41.

Up Next

The top 48 track and field performers in the east will head to Jacksonville, Fla., on May 26 for the NCAA East Preliminary. From there, the top 12 performers will punch tickets to Eugene, Ore., for the NCAA Outdoor National Championship.