North Carolina track and field teammates Will Coogan and Patrick Anderson, a little more than a year after a near-fatal car accident, made headlines with their performances Thursday in the College Men’s 5,000-Meter Championship at the 2024 Penn Relays.

The teammates finished first (13:52.60) and third (13:53.86), respectively, in the opening heat of the three-heat event at the historic Franklin Field in Philadelphia and went on to finish in those spots once the nearly 70 athletes had crossed the finish line.

Coogan and Anderson were two of five team members traveling to practice together, when the vehicle crashed and flipped, before coming to rest in a ditch. Both were seriously injured, with Anderson nearing dying from his injuries, which included shattering the bones in his face.

The lengthy recovery and rehabilitation process meant Coogan and Anderson both had to miss the cross country season in the fall, but they both showed Thursday night how far they’ve come. 

It was a huge statement at one of the world’s oldest and largest meets and a great gauge of their progress with the 2024 ACC Outdoor Championships just a couple weeks away.

The 2024 Penn Relays is the 128th edition of the event, which first was held in 1895. It now welcomes more than 15,000 athletes of all ages and skill levels (high school, college, Special Olympics, professional/elite and Masters).

Watch Will Coogan Win College Men’s 5000M Championship At 2024 Penn Relays

61 seconds over the final 400 meters for Will Coogan!@UNCTrack_Field‘s Coogan put a gap on the field to win the collegiate men’s 5,000m in 13:52.60.#PennRelays | @pennrelays pic.twitter.com/iJA7dNMggz

— FloTrack (@FloTrack) April 26, 2024

College Men’s 5000m Championship Results

1. Will Coogan (North Carolina) – 13:52.60
2. Hunter Christopher (Youngstown State) – 13:53.37
3. Patrick Anderson (North Carolina) – 13:53.86
4. Travis Martin (UConn) – 13:55.22
5. Micah Wilson (Wisconsin) – 13:55.87
6. David Vorbach (N.C. State) – 13:56.04
7. Samuel Whittaker (Central Connecticut) – 13:58.24
8. Taonga Mbambo (La Salle) – 13:59.56
9. Alec Sauter (UConn) – 14:03.89
10. Jack Gregorski (Princeton) – 14:04.69

How To Watch The 2024 Penn Relays

The 2024 Penn Relays is streaming in the United States on FloTrack and the FloSports app. Meet replays, highlights and breaking news will be on both platforms.

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FloTrack Archived Footage

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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A memorial service will be held Friday for former North Carolina Court of Appeals Chief Judge John C. Martin, who died earlier this month at age 80.

Martin died peacefully at his Raleigh home on April 9, according to an obituary from the Brown-Wynne Funeral Home working with the family. The funeral home said Thursday it had no information on a cause of death.

Gov. Roy Cooper ordered that North Carolina and U.S. flags be lowered at state facilities starting Thursday until Friday night in Martin’s honor.

A Durham native who attended Wake Forest University law school and served briefly on the Durham City Council, Martin was first appointed as a Superior Court judge in 1977. He was first elected to the intermediate-level Court of Appeals in 1984. He ultimately served on the court for more than 24 years, including 10 as chief judge from 2004 until he retired in 2014.

The chief judge oversees the administration of the 15-member court, whose responsibilities include assigning members to three-judge panels that consider cases and scheduling sessions for oral arguments.

Martin also had served as chairman of the North Carolina Judicial Standards Commission and president of the Council of Chief Judges of the State Courts of Appeal, according to the obituary. Martin’s court portrait was unveiled at the Court of Appeals in 2023.

Friday’s service was scheduled for Christ Church in downtown Raleigh, where he was a member. Survivors include his wife, five children and nine grandchildren, the obituary said.