Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG, Va.– Junior Yavgeniy Olhovsky cleared a school record 18-02.50, and came in second in the men’s pole vault to highlight the final day of the VT Elite Meet on Saturday at the Rector Field House in Blacksburg, Va.
Olhovsky vaulted the personal-best 18-02.50 on his first attempt to break the old school record of 18-01.25, held by Brian Mondschein, who placed first in the event competing unattached. The height automatically qualifies Olhovsky for the NCAA Indoor Championships in College Station, Texas on March 13-14. Sophomore Hunter Hall placed third in the event with a clearance of 16-11 and won the tiebreaker over Chris Spear of Clemson and junior Jared Jodon of the Hokies, who took fifth with the same height. Sophomore Mike Miller cleared a personal-best 16-05.25 for sixth place.
The women pole vaulters got the day started off strongly. The Hokies finished one-two, as junior Lisa Birnbaum and freshman Abby Schaffer both cleared 12-06.75. Birnbaum took first with the tie-breaker of least misses, while Schaffer earned runner-up. The victory marked Birnbaum’s first win of the season in the pole vault.
Junior Igor Misljenovic placed fourth in the men’s shot put, with a toss of 54-08.75. On the women’s side, junior Erika Schroeder matched her career-best with a throw of 49-08.50, only two inches short of the provisional-qualifying mark, finishing second in the shot put. In other field action, freshman Hashim Halim earned fifth in the men’s triple jump with a distance of 48-11.50.
The Hokie sprinters gave several impressive performances on the day. In the men’s 400-meter dash open section, sophomore Ebenezer Amegashie clocked a 49.79 to take fifth place. Freshmen Nick Vaughn and Keith Ricks ran well in a stacked field in the 200-meter dash invitational section, placing third and fourth, respectively. Vaughn crossed the line in 21.70, while Ricks earned a time of 21.72.
In the women’s 200-meter dash invitational section, freshman Aunye Boone just missed provisionally qualifying, running a personal-best 24.00 to finish second in the event. Boone’s time came only a tenth of a second short of provisionally qualifying.
A uniform violation disqualified Clemson, and helped Tech capture first place in the open section of the men’s 4x400-meter relay. The quartet of Vaughn, freshman Keith Ricks, Amegashie, and freshman Bobby Onyeukwu ran a time of 3:16.14 to win the race.
The women’s 4x400-meter relay squad closed out the successful meet for the Hokies with a provisional-qualifying time of 3:38.74. The quartet of juniors Queen Harrison, Asia Washington, Kristi Castlin and Boone won the invitational section of the event by almost five seconds.
The Virginia Tech 2008 track and field squads were honored at the midway point of the meet, as Tech unveiled banners paying tribute to the Hokies’ 2008 ACC indoor women’s track and field championship, ACC outdoor women’s track and field championship and East Regional women’s track and field championship.
The Hokies will take next week off, before returning to the Rector Field House for the VT Challenge. Results will be available following the conclusion of the meet.
Women’s Results
Pole Vault – 1, Lisa Birnbaum, Virginia Tech, 12-06.75, 2, Abby Schaffer, Virginia Tech, 12-06.75
Shot Put – 1, Lawanda Henry, North Carolina State, 53-02.25, 2, Erika Schroeder, Virginia Tech, 49-08.50
200-meter dash (Invitational) – 1, Murielle Ahoure, Miami, 23.26, 2, Aunye Boone, Virginia Tech, 24.00
4x400-meter relay (Invitational) – 1, Virginia Tech, 3:38.74, 2, Maryland, 3:43.60, 3, Miami, 3:45.80
Men’s Results
Shot Put – 1, Rhuben Williams, Unattached, 64-07.25, 2, Israel Machovec, Georgia, 56-05.25, 3, Geno Atkins, Georgia, 54-11.25, 4, Igor Misljenovic, Virginia Tech, 54-08.75, 5, Jason Jones, North Carolina State, 54-06.75
400-meter dash (Open) – 1, Jeremy Samuels, Maryland, 48.76, 2, Allan Lunkenheimer, Wake Forest, 48.95, 3, Anthony Walker, Maryland, 49.10, 4, Tavaris Leak, Charlotte, 49.70, 5, Ebenezer Amegashie, 49.79
200-meter dash (Invitational) – 1, Torrin Lawrence, Georgia, 20.95, 2, Jacoby Ford, Clemson, 21.33, 3, Nick Vaughn, Virginia Tech, 21.70, 4, Keith Ricks, Virginia Tech, 21.72, 5, Trenton Guy Jr., Clemson, 21.77
Triple Jump – 1, Alphonso Jordan, Georgia Tech, 52-06.75, 2, Jamaal Parker, Georgia, 52-04.75, 3, Mikese Morse, Miami, 49-07, 4, Omar Morrison, Georgia Tech, 49-01.50, 5, Hasheem Halim, Virginia Tech, 48-11.50
4x400-meter relay (Open) – 1, Virginia Tech, 3:16.14
Pole Vault – 1, Brian Mondschein, Unattached, 18-02.50, 2, Yavgeniy Olhovsky, Virginia Tech, 18-02.50, 3, Hunter Hall, Virginia Tech, 16-11, 4, Chris Spear, Clemson, 16-11, 5, Jared Jodon, Virginia Tech, 16-11, 6, Mike Miller, Virginia Tech, 16-05.25