Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG, Va. – The Virginia Tech track and field squads won four individual ACC titles and started their ACC Championships strongly on Friday at the Rector Field House in Blacksburg, Va. At the conclusion of Friday’s events, the Hokie men lead the field with 51.5 team points, while the women sit in fifth with 21 team points. Clemson holds 55 points to lead the women’s competition.
On the men’s side, sophomore Marcel Lomnicky and junior Matej Muza sparked the scoring for the Hokies with a one-two finish in the men’s weight throw. Lomnicky tossed a 68-07.00 to earn the crown, his first ACC Championship after joining the squad in January. The mark surpasses Lomnicky’s personal best by almost five inches in an event he just started competing in upon arriving at Tech. Muza threw the weight a season-best 66-10.75 to finish runner-up. Both athletes improved their already provisionally-qualified status.
“Because I have pretty good technique in hammer throw, which is very similar to [the weight throw], maybe that’s why I’ve picked up the weight throw so quickly,” Lomnicky said. “But I want to be better. I’m glad I won today, but I wanted to throw over 22 meters, so maybe the NCAAs will be good for me.”
The pole vaulters added a staggering 23.50 points to the men’s total score with a one-two-three finish in the event. Junior Yavgeniy Olhovsky shined, matching an ACC meet record with an 18-00.50 clearance to claim his first ACC pole vault title. Olhovsky tied Florida State’s Jeff Bray’s record, set back in 1993. Sophomore Hunter Hall continued his outstanding season with a vault of 17-06.50 to take second. Junior Jared Jodon tied for third, clearing 16-08.75.
In distance events, junior Devin Cornwall placed eighth to add a point to the team score in the 5,000-meters. Cornwall ran 14:30.22 in his first 5,000-meter competition of the season. Senior Billy Berlin and sophomore Ryan Witt both qualified for Saturday’s finals in the mile run and the 800-meter run, respectively. Berlin clocked a 4:10.10, while Witt won the prelims of the 800-meters with a career-best 1:50.77, just missing the provisional mark. Freshman Keare Smith advanced to the finals of the 60-meter hurdles, after earning a time of 8.10.
The Tech men capped the day with an impressive showing in the distance medley relay. The quartet of freshman Will Mulherin, sophomore Nobel Iyebote, senior James Scheiner and sophomore Eddie Judge stuck with the pack to cross the line in 9:52.39 for second place.
The Hokie women duplicated the men’s success in the first day. Sophomore Dorotea Habazin began the scoring early for the Hokies, with a first-place effort in the weight throw. The Zagreb, Croatia native set a personal record for the fourth consecutive meet, with a toss of 64-02.50 to win her first indoor conference crown. The mark increased her already provisionally-qualified, season-best mark, and bettered her chances at receiving a berth to the NCAA Championships in College Station, Texas on March 13-14.
“I started to throw 18.60 when I first got here, and we got improvement of almost six feet, thanks to [Tech throws coach Greg Jack],” Habazin said. “This is my first ACC indoor title and second ACC indoor championship where I was competing. The first ACC meet, I finished fifth and that was my first meet of the season last year. This season I competed better, I got used to it, and this is the result.”
Senior Natalie Sherbak continued the Hokie success with a win in the 5,000-meter run. Sherbak stayed with the top four runners for the majority of the race, and with four laps to go, the Virginia Beach, Va., native pulled ahead. Sherbak sprinted down the stretch to capture the gold in the event, her first ACC indoor championship, with a provisional-qualifying time of 16:23.51.
Sherbak provisionally qualified in her third different event on the season, already coming under the provisional standard in the 3,000-meters and mile run, with times of 9:18.20 and 4:40.31, respectively. The Kellam High standout registered the fastest time in the conference and the effort ranks in the top-20 nationally coming into the weekend. Senior Erin Reddan placed eighth in the event with a time of 17:08.22 to tally another point to the women’s team total.
The Hokies qualified for four of Saturday’s finals on the women’s side. Junior Kristi Castlin ran an 8.07 for first place in the 60-meter hurdle prelims, while junior Asia Washington and senior Shakirra Pinnock clocked a 54.65 and a 55.57, respectively, to advance to the finals of the 400-meter dash. Freshman Ogechi Nwaneri completed an exceptional Friday in her first ACC meet. Nwaneri ran 7.42 in the 60-meter dash, and came back to clock a career-best 24.36 in the 200-meter dash and move onto the finals in both events.
The ACC Championships will wrap up on Saturday. Events begin tomorrow at 10 a.m., with the men’s high jump. Results will be available on hokiesports.com following the conclusion of the meet. ACC Select coverage will begin at noon.
Women’s Results
60 Meter Hurdles (Preliminaries)
(1) Kristi Castlin, Virginia Tech, 8.07; (2) Vanneisha Ivy, North Carolina, 8.21;
Weight Throw
(1) Dorotea Habazin, Virginia Tech, 64-02.50; (2) Lawanda Henry, NC State, 62-09.25
400 Meter Dash (Preliminaries)
(1) Elizabeth Mott, North Carolina, 54.25; (2) Nicole Castronuovav, Wake Forest, 54.39; (3) Asia Washington, Virginia Tech, 54.65 ; (4) Tierra Brown, Miami, 55.28; 5. Christine Johnson, North Carolina, 55.42; (6) Shakirra Pinnock, Virginia Tech, 55.57(Season Best); (7) Tameka Jameson, Miami, 55.60;
60 Meter Dash (Preliminaries)
(1) Murielle Ahoure, Miami, 7.21; (2) Danielle Jeffery, Florida State, 7.41; (3) Kristy Whyte, Miami, 7.48; (4) Ogechi Nwaneri, Virginia Tech, 7.42; (5) Candyce Mcgrone, Florida State, 7.45
200 Meter Dash (Preliminary)
(1) Murielle Ahoure, Miami, 23.27 (ACC Record); (2) Teona Rodgers, Florida State, 23.51; (3) Kristy Whyte, Miami, 23.80; (4) Brittany St. Louis, Florida State, 23.81; (5) Kristine Scott, Clemson, 23.95; (6) Vaneisha Ivy, North Carolina, 24.02; (7) Candyce Mcgrone, Florida State, 24.13; (8) Ogechi Nwaneri, Virginia Tech, 24.36 (Season Best)
5000 Meter Run
(1) Natalie Sherbak, Virginia Tech, 16:23.51; (2) Lauren Holesh, North Carolina, 16:27.45; (3). Anna Nosenko, Wake Forest, 16:32.22; (4) Brittany Tinsley, NC State, 16:50.58; (5) Christina Woytalewicz, Florida State, 16:59.69; (6) Patricia Loughlin, Duke, 17:02.02 (7) Christy Adamyk, 17:02.63 (8) Erin Reddan, Virginia Tech, 17:08.22
Men’s Results
1 Mile Run (Preliminaries)
(1) Sintayehu Taye. Virginia, 4:08.16; (2) Billy Berlin, Virginia Tech, 4:10.10; (3) Dan Roberts, Florida State, 4:09.10;
60 Meter Hurdles (Preliminaries)
(1) Cory Nelms, Miami, 7.97; (2) Brent Larue, Wake Forest, 8.06; (3) Alphonso Jordan, Georgia Tech, 8.09; (4) David Ford, Georgia Tech, 8.10; (5) Keare Smith, Virginia Tech, 8.10; (6) Adams Abdulrazaaq, Virginia, 8.13
Weight Throw
(1.) Marcel Lomnicky, Virginia Tech, 68-07.00; (2) Matej Muza, Virginia Tech, 66-10.75; (3) Matt Wernke, Florida State, 61-04.75
800 Meter Dash (Preliminaries)
(1) Ryan Witt, Virginia Tech, 1:50.77 (PR); (2) Adam Smith, North Carolina, 1:53.06
5000 Meter Run
(1) Ryan Collins, Virginia, 14:17.76; (2) John Martinez, NC State, 14:18.28; (3) Emil Heineking, Virginia, 14:23.99; (4) Graham Tribble, Virginia, 14:26.04; (5) Robert Moldovan, NC State, 14:27.48; (6) Tim Ritchie, Boston College, 14:28.57; (7) Steeve Gabart, Florida State, 14:29.37; (8) Devin Cornwall, Virginia Tech, 14:30.22
Pole Vault
(1) Yavgeniy Olhovsky, Virginia Tech, 18-00.50, (2), Hunter Hall, Virginia Tech, 17-06.50, (t3), Parker Smith, North Carolina, 16-08.75, (t3), Jared Jodon, Virginia Tech, 16-08.75