Hokie ClubCORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Virginia Tech track and field squads started off the 2009 ACC Outdoor Championships with an incredible first day of competition, as four Hokies earned individual crowns at Cobb Stadium in Coral Gables, Fla., on Thursday.
At the end of the opening day’s events, the Hokie men tallied 21 points and sit in third place overall, while the Tech women reside in second place with 26 points. Of the five events the Hokies competed in on the day, Tech won four of them.
The meet could not have started out any better for the Hokies, as sophomore Marcel Lomnicky captured his second ACC individual title since joining Tech in January, winning the hammer throw with a toss of 232-01. The victory gave the Hokie men 10 points in the team race after the first event.
Lomnicky, who won the conference crown and earned All-America honors in the weight throw during the indoor season, defeated the runner-up finisher on Thursday by nearly 45 feet. The Nitra, Slovakia native’s mark also came less than two feet short of the ACC meet record of 233-07, set by former Hokie Spyridon Jullien in 2005.
The field events continued to bring Tech success on Thursday. In the men’s javelin, freshman Matthias Treff, participating in his first collegiate competition, threw a staggering 239-10 to win the ACC crown. Treff, recruited as a javelin thrower from Burgthann, Germany, added another 10 points to the Hokies’ team score as their second conference champion on the day.
Treff’s mark surpassed the regional standard in the javelin of 202-01, ranks top five nationally and is the top mark in the ACC coming into the weekend. In his first javelin throw at Tech, Treff fell less than three feet shy of the school record in the event.
The pattern of championships continued on the women’s side, as sophomore Dorotea Habazin, who won the indoor ACC weight throw, launched a season-best 209-02 for first place in the hammer throw. Following closely behind, senior Brittany Pryor placed third in the event with a season-best toss of 196-06. Habazin, already regionally qualified in the event, improved on her season-best by over seven feet, while Pryor increased her regional mark by over three feet. Habazin and Pryor earned 10 and six points, respectively, to put the Tech women on the board.
Senior Natalie Sherbak repeated as the ACC women’s 10,000-meter champion with a strong performance. Sherbak stayed in the top three for the majority of the race, and pulled ahead with two laps to go. The Virginia Beach, Va., native extended her lead for the rest of the race en route to a time of 35:48.42 and another ACC gold medal. With the victory, the Kellam High School standout won an individual conference title for the third consecutive ACC meet. Sherbak finished first in the 5,000-meters at the indoor meet in February and earned first in the 10,000-meters at the 2008 ACC Outdoor Championships.
Junior Matt Kroetch added a point to the men’s team score to close out the Hokies first day at the Championships with an eighth-place showing in the men’s 10,000-meter run. Kroetch clocked a 31:27.58 in the effort.
Action at the ACC Outdoor Championships continues on Friday, beginning with the heptathlon at 11 a.m. Events for the Hokies start at 1 p.m., with the women’s shot put. Results will be available on hokiesports.com following the conclusion of the day’s events.
Results
Men
Hammer Throw – 1, Marcel Lomnicky, Virginia Tech, 232-01, 2, Travis Whitfield, Florida State, 187-10, 3, Alex Padgett, Clemson, 184-10, 4, Matt Wernke, Florida State, 182-05, 5, Zach Berg, Clemson, 182-03, 6, Enzo Chiariello, Virginia, 168-04, 7, Michael Schalmo, Duke, 163-10, 8, Mathew Kosmas, Boston College, 163-03.
Javelin – 1, Matthias Treff, Virginia Tech, 239-10, 2, Thomas Sensing, Wake Forest, 222-10, 3, John Austin, Duke, 219-09, 4, Bryan Howard, Florida State, 208-04, 5, Andy Fahringer, Virginia, 203-10, 6, Bobby Weinstein, Duke, 202-02, 7, Mateo Sossah, 199-03, 8, Scott Pauga, Clemson, 195-10.
10,000-Meter Run – 1, Steeve Gabart, Florida State, 30:38.48, 2, Ryan Collins, Virginia, 30:39.08, 3, Emil Heineking, Virginia, 30:52.30, 4, Trey Miller, Virginia, 31:00.44, 5, Graham Tribble, Virginia, 31:13.34, 6, Evan Watchempino, North Carolina, 31:16.10, 7, Tim Ritchie, Boston College, 31:24.50, 8, Matt Kroetch, Virginia Tech, 31:27.58
Women
Hammer Throw – 1, Dorotea Habazin, Virginia Tech, 209-02, 2, Nikola Lomnicka, Clemson, 197-08, 3, Brittany Pryor, Virginia Tech, 196-06, 4, Kimery Hern, Georgia Tech, 5, Alana Clooten, Georgia Tech, 182-11, 6, Ashley Williams, Maryland, 169-10, 7, Lawanda Henry, NC State, 168-00, 8, Alexa Manning, Virginia, 162-01.
10,000-Meter Run – 1, Natalie Sherbak, Virginia Tech, 35:48.42, 2, Brittany Tinsley, NC State, 35:56.50, 3, Christy Adamyk, Duke, 36:07.13, 4, Anna Corrigan, Virginia, 36:43.83, 5, Kim Ruck, Clemson, 36:45.78, 6, Lauretta Dezubay, Virginia, 36:52.92, 7, Jenna Baker, Clemson, 36:57.43, 8, Brielle Chabot, Boston College, 37:07.09.