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ACC honors WFU President SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) has bestowed the President's Award for Exemplary Service to Wake Forest University President Nathan O. Hatch The award was announced at the ACC's spring meeting Tuesday evening. May 12. Each year, the outgoing conference president hon ors someone for commend able service to the ACC during the year of the pres ident's term or over an extended period of time. Martha Putallaz, the 2014-2015 ACC president and faculty representative for Duke University, chose to honor Hatch for demon strating exceptional leader ship during what she called "a most pivotal, challeng ing and transformative time in the history of intercolle giate athletics" In April 2010. Hatch agreed to represent the ACC on the NCAA Division I Board of Directors and was then elected chairman two years later. He served as Division I board chairman from August 2012 until January 2015. Under his leadership, the NCAA developed a new, more streamlined and efficient governance struc ture, raised academic stan dards, restructured enforce ment. increased autonomy for power conferences and brought student-athletes into the governance process, among other accomplishments. He also played an instrumental role in the ACC expansion effort that welcomed the University of Notre Dame, where Hatch served as provost before coming to Wake Forest, to the conference. "President Hatch was able to achieve all that he did because he was a truly effective and patient leader, one who listened and could make all parties feel valued and heard, a man of great integrity trusted by all, and who truly represented the best interests of academics and athletics as a paired endeavor," said Putallaz. "It has been a privilege to represent Wake Forest, and all of the member insti tutions of the ACC, as the NCAA took historic steps to advance and modernize intercollegiate athletics," Hatch said. "I accept this award with honor and grat itude for the people and institutions that have allowed me to pursue my professional and personal passions as an academic, an administrator and an athlet ics supporter." Wake Forest University President Nathan O. Hatch has received the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) President's Award for Exemplary Service to the ACC. World Series from page A6 earlier that day and both lasted 13 innings. As a result, the WSSU-Mercyhurst contest didn't begin until 9:45 pjn. This game went past midnight and ended around 12:45 Sunday morning. In losing to Mercyhurst, the Rams had to be back in action for a 12 noon start on Sunday. Given the time that the game ended, there wasn't much time to rest. By 9:30 on Sunday morning. WSSU reported back to the tournament site for batting practice prior to facing Millersville. "It was a quick turnaround, but our guys handled it well," said Ritsche. "They battled all the way through. This group has no reason to hang its head. I'm proud of everything they accomplished." Against Mercyhurst, the Rams trailed 2-0 going into their half of the ninth inning. Dylan Dombrowskas smashed a double off the leftfield wall and scored on Steger's two-base hit down the first-base line. With no outs, Jacob Barber laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Steger to third base. The inning - and the game - ended with back-to-back strikeouts for WSSU. "Things went all the way down to the wire," said Ritsche. "We played extremely well, but just couldn't come through when we needed it the most. We were only one hit ball away from forcing a tie and then possibly scor ing the winning run." Winston-Salem State put on a noteworthy offensive display in convincing wins over Seton Hill and West Chester. In the opener, Gavin Culler and Colby Keene drove in two runs apiece in a 5-2 victory over Seton Hill. Sam Burton pitched six strong innings and allowed one run on four hits. The next night, the Rams beat West Chester 9-4. Connor Andrus hit a three-run home run, while Culler. Barber and Alex Grubb had two RBIs each. Left-hander lyier Scearce threw 62 innings and gave up two runs on .four hits with five strikeouts. I I Photos by Cmf T. Grecakc 4x1 Exchange Prep's De'ja Reid gets ready to hand the baton to Malaysia Albright in the 4x100 relay. I I Prep's Ashya Smith (clearing hurdle) finished second in both hurdles events at the state meet. Champions from page B1 with us for about four weeks, but she's really helped out in the 4x100." Looking back on the state championships, Deonica Reid was most pleased with her perform ance in the 200. Before the start, she felt ill. but willed her way through the race. Deonica wot in 25.36 sec onds to beat Walkertown rival Aaliyah Craft. "The 200 was the most satisfying win." she said. "Right before the race. I felt sick, so I was glad to run a per sonal best and make it to the finish line." In the 100 finals. Deonica seized control from the start and was never pressed. She crossed the line in 12.43 seconds, a 4ew strides ahead of run ner-up Jessica Norman of Littleton Northwest Halifax (12.64). "I felt like I was kind of floating." she said. "But since I won, I can't be mad about that." Deonica had hopes of winning four .gold medals. But those hopes vanished in the long jump, which was decided by a mere three inches. Vanisha Wilshire of Louisburg won the event with a leap of 18 feet. and Deonica was next with a jump of 17-feet, 10 inches. "I don't believe I did anything wrong (that caused me to finish sec ond)," she said. "What hap pened is that she (Whilshire) just had a very good day." The performance of Smith, a sophomore, is a clear signal that despite Deonica Reid's graduation, the track and field outlook for Prep is bright. She's much-improved in the hur dles and has stepped up as a key member on both relay teams. Smith's showing from last Friday represents quite a turnaround from a year ago, when she failed to place among the state's top eight. ' Smith set some lofty goals for this year's state competition, which includ ed giving Kylie Polsgrove of Avery County all she could handle in both hur dles races. That was a tall order, since Polsgrove is a three-time state outdoor champ in both events. In the 100 hurdles. Smith stayed in contention, but Polsgrove ran 14.94 seconds, while Smith clocked 1534. The end result was the same in the 300 hurdles. Polsgrove won in 45.49 and Smith earned the silver medal with a time of 4823. "It feels good (being state runner-up)," said Smith, who was a back-up forward on Winston-Salem Prep's state-championship basketball team. "My goal was to beat Kylie, but I'm glad that she's a senior and I'm a sophomore. I still have some time to catch up to her (times) and do what she's been able to do. "This year, every thing worked so much bet ter for me ... better tech nique. better form. It made a huge difference." Prep's ownership of the relay races was never more evident than in the 4x100. Jt was the fourth year in a row that the Phoenix won the title. Forman, Smith. De'ja Reid and Albright ran a season best of 50.45 seconds and Pamlico County was dis tant second at 51.16. De'ja Reid turned the relay into a one-sided affair when she jetted to take a 7-meter lead on the third leg. Albright got the baton on her anchor leg and added to that lead. "We did our best and ran our fastest time of the year," said De'ja Reid. "I left every thing out on the track and was able to push my team mates so they could give it their best." The win in the 4x200 was especially satisfying in light of what transpired in the 2014 state meet: The heavily-favored Phoenix was disqualified for a lane violation. This year, it was a vastly different result. Forman, Smith and the Reid sisters clocked 1:45.03 to win easily over Pamlico County again (1:48.19). Off day from page SI and I thought! was having a good race. But the other two runners were able to pull out and get in front of me. "It's very tough to win two years in a row. The competition really comes after you. They work so hard to beat you, so you have to maintain and be consistent every time you step on the track for a race" The 200 had far less drama. Sessoms owned the race from his initial burst out of the starting blocks. He won comfortably in 21.73 seconds over second place Avery (21.93). "The 200 went OK." he said. "I was hoping to run a personal best, but it didn't happen. All I focused on was pushing hard from the start and that's what helped me to get the victory." In the relays. Carver entered the state meet as defending champs in both events. Based on fastest times, the Jackets best shot for victory was in the 4x200 (Sessoms, Devon Pleasants. Antonio Berry and Kendyl Dean). The Jackets stayed in con tention early. but Claremont Bunker Hill pulled away on the third leg and clocked 1:28.05 to put the issue to rest. Bunn was second (1:2930) and Carver was third at 1:29.38. The 4x100 was a case of the competition being that much better. Carver was the No. 5 seed, and not very likely to chal lenge the frontrunners Eventual winner Bunn 42.07 along with Wilson Beddingfield, Franklinton and Marshville Forest Hills dominated this event. Carver (Sessoms. Dean. Detain Bin yard and Pleasants) ended up in sixth place at 43.11. The Yellow Jackets had only one athlete com peting in the girls' division, and she served notice that she'll be a major factor in 2016. By the end of the day, SyKonza Evans showed why she had been ranked among the state's top Eve in the sprints by NC Runners (http://ncmile split.com). Evans, a junior, lived up to her No. 2 state rank ing in the 100 and ran 12.50 seconds to finish as the runner-up behind state champ Tia Glover of St. Paul's (1237). Top-seeded Jaleesa Smoot of Salisbury, posted a third-place finish with a time of 1238. The end result in the 200 was somewhat surpris ing. Coming in, Evans was seeded fifth and at best, was considered a long-shot pick to place among top three. Thanks to nice curve running and maintaining her form coming down the stretch, Evans finished third in 25.68 seconds. "For me, this was a good experience to run against some of the top ath letes in the state," said Evans. "I need-to get better with my block starts in the 100. For the 200,1 wish I could've finished stronger. But that's something for me to work on. Next year, I'm coming back harder and stronger." State championship notes Atkins: Triple jumper Llyric Mack delivered as expected in her specialty. Entering the state meet, she had the secood-best jump in the state and was seeded second. Mack challenged for the top spot, but wasn't able to alter the expected order of finish. Wilshire won with a leap of 39-feet, 4 inches and Mack was next at 36-feet, 7 inches. "I'm happy with my perfaanance." Mack said. "But since I'm a junior, I still have another year left, so I'm going for 40-feet so 1 can act a new state record. 1 was hoping to jump 37 (feet) today, but my ankle started bothering me and 1 just gave it all I had on my last jump. I scratched, but that's OK, I'm satisfied for now. When next year comes, it'll be my turn." Mack also placed eighth in the long jump (15-feet, 7 inches). In the shot put, Ronald Brown nailed down fourth I place with -a toss of 46-feet 5V4 inches. ... The boys' 4x400 relay team made some inroads at the stale meet. The Camels foursome (Jeremy Kankula, Tony Davis. Maiz Law son and Haywood Heebies) benefited from Kankula's strong lead-off leg. which set the tone for a fourth-place finish (9 minutes, 32.62 seconds). Walkertown: Craft had visions of pulling off a double in the 100 and 200 sprints in her final high school track meet. It was last spring when she raised quite a few eyebrows with a stunning victory over Deotnca Read in the 200 at the stale championships. This time it was a different outcome. Craft finished second in the 200 (25.66) and third in the 100 (12.72). "I felt I did well today." said Craft, who has a track scholar ship at Winston-Salem State. "But at the same time, 1 know I could've done better. With the training I had at Walkertown, it made me a stronger runner in the 200 and 400. Those are the races that I'm most likely to focus on in college " Craft also scored points with a seventh-place finish in the high jump (4-feet-lO inches). ... In the boys? 4*800 relay, the Wotfpack quartet of Matthew Rogers, Logan Carter, Donwill Mason and Ryan Carter finished fourth (8:38.88). Jacob Cobb of Winston-Salem Prep ran 2324 sec onds in the 200-meter dash, which was good for seventh place
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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