NC State track and field competes alongside plethora of schools in Raleigh Relays

son with something like this in my opener,” Tyynismaa said. “Going into the race, all my practices had been going really well. Even with a few minor hiccups, workouts are really enjoyable with the girls, and I love the workouts — great environment.”

For one weekend of the year, all eyes in the college track and field world turn toward Raleigh.

That’s because of the annual Raleigh Relays track meet, hosted each year by NC State in which programs from across the country come to compete in a three-day event.

The meet took place this past weekend, March 2325, and it didn’t disappoint, featuring exciting races and field events that drew a tremendous crowd all throughout the event.

“The event itself is amazing — it’s one of the biggest track meets on the East Coast the entire year,” said men’s head coach Rollie Geiger. “This event, for this area, this community is very, very positive for track and field. …The exposure to the community is terrific.”

A total of four Wolfpack athletes took first place in their respective events: graduate student Allie Hays in the women’s 10K Invitational, graduate student Jamar Davis in the men’s triple jump, graduate student Cam Murray in the men’s 100-meter dash and senior Jirah Sidberry in the women’s long jump.

Hays was the first member of the Pack to take a top prize, and she did so in style, breaking the school, meet and facility record in the women’s 10K Invitational on Thursday night with a time of 32 minutes, 21.13 seconds.

Davis secured the Pack’s first victory in the field events on Friday by taking first place in the men’s triple jump with a score of 15.66 meters. He nearly took first in the long jump the following day, coming in second with a score of 7.44 meters.

Also on Friday, Murray sprinted his way to the top prize in the men’s 100-meter dash with a time of 10.38. Murray’s win came despite competing in the first heat, which is usually reserved for the slower-seeded runners, but Murray dusted his competitors and the field to nab first.

“I was kind of mad I was in the first heat, but I didn’t have a seed time, so I just went out there, got out of the blocks good and just had a good transition,” Murray said. “I had a feeling I would run that fast. I was hoping for a little faster, but it’s my first 100 in like five years, so I’m satisfied with that.”

Murray’s teammate, senior Alex Lang, also fared well in the event, taking fourth with a time of 10.58. Lang finished first in the ninth and final heat, the fastest of the event.

“It’s nice to come back outside; running into a headwind is not fun,” Lang said. “It was a good race. I won my heat too, so I think it’s just nice to get my legs back under me again and just keep it up for the rest of the season.”

Back on the field, senior Jirah Sidberry followed in Davis’ footsteps, taking first place in the women’s long jump with a personal-best leap of 6.23 meters. Her mark ranks fifth in Wolfpack history.

Plenty of other NC State athletes came in the top 10 of their respective events or came pretty close to it. On Friday afternoon, sophomore Amaris Tyynismaa took fourth overall in the women’s 1500-meter run with a time of 4:12.02.

“I’m super excited — I’m at a place that makes me really happy, and I’m really looking forward to the rest of the sea-

Later that same night, senior Sam Bush continued the Pack’s impressive distance performances with a time of 15:39.26 in the women’s 5K, earning second place. For Bush, it wasn’t certain she would even run the entire race — her teammate, graduate student Savannah Shaw, left early as a pace-setter, but Bush finished the race and nearly came in first.

“My thought coming in was that I wasn’t gonna stay engaged the entire time, and I wanted to leave early because I tend to do more of a same kick,” Bush said. “It was more like practicing a different technique, and I didn’t win but it felt better.”

NC State’s final top-five finish of the meet came from graduate student Gavin Gaynor, who took fifth in the men’s 800-meter run with a time of 1:49.47 on Saturday. Gaynor also took a top-10 finish earlier in the meet, earning sixth place in the 1500-meter run on Thursday with a time of 3:41.58.

“Not a bad opener — it was a little windy today, but I PR’d by like half a second and came back from running the 1500 on Thursday,” Gaynor said. “Pretty good to come back — good practice for ACCs when we run trials and finals with one day in between. Pretty happy with how the season is going.”

In all, it was a great weekend for college track and field. Spectators from across the community and the country came to Raleigh to watch high-level athletes compete, and they weren’t disappointed.