Williams makes first trip to NCAAs

Day 1 Results: East | West

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – NC State throwers Nathaniel Williams and Tremanisha Taylor qualified for their first trips to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in two weeks at the NCAA East Region Preliminary meet at North Florida’s Hodges Stadium.

Taylor, a redshirt freshman from Henderson, N.C., became the first member of either Wolfpack squad to advance to the championship meet with a school record-setting throw in the shot put in the early afternoon. She broke teammate Lawanda Henry’s school record in the process, throwing the shot 55-feet, ¼-inch.

Henry set the previous school mark of 54-feet, 1-inch as a sophomore in 2010. On Thursday, the senior from Dunn, N.C., finished 20th with a mark of 50-feet.

Taylor will compete Friday in the women’s discus, in which she owns the NC State school record with a throw of more than 175 feet.

Williams, a sophomore from Newport, N.C., had the second best throw of his career in the men’s discus, posting a mark of 186-feet, 5-inches to finish third overall. Redshirt freshman Jule Rich also competed in the discus, but did not advance.

Williams was a regional qualifier last year, but did not advance to the championships. This year, he not only had the best throw of his career in the discus, but also earned All-ACC honors by finishing second at the ACC Championships.