Hokie ClubEUGENE, Ore. - After stamping her name in the Virginia Tech record books throughout the 2010 track and field season, senior Queen Harrison made NCAA history on Saturday in the final day of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field National Finals in Eugene, Ore., as she won the women’s 100-meter hurdles.
Tech’s women’s and men’s squads finished fifth and 10th, respectively, in the team standings. The Hokie women tallied 33 points, while the men finished with 20.50. The fifth-place showing for the Hokie women is the best finish ever for a Tech track and field squad, while the 10th-place effort is the best performance for the men‘s track and field team in program history. Texas A&M won the competition on both the men’s and women’s side. The Aggie women collected 72 points, while the A&M men notched 55, holding Florida off by one point.
Harrison captured the women’s 100-meter hurdles title with a time of 12.67, tallying her first national championship in the event. The crown marked Harrison’s second championship of the meet, after winning the 400-meter hurdles on Friday night with a school-record time of 54.55, marking the first time a woman has swept both hurdles events in the same national meet in NCAA history.
“It feels great, and I mean great with a lot of R’s behind the G,” Harrison said. “Not just for NCAA history, but great for my hometown Richmond and Virginia Tech too. It means a lot to be able to bring those two titles, along with the 60-meter hurdle title, back to Blacksburg. I’ve seen a lot of Hokie hats here, people who did not even travel with [the team], and the support has been great.”
With Saturday’s national championship, the Hokie women’s track and field program now holds three national championships, and Harrison owns all three. Along with her 100- and 400-meter hurdle titles, the Hermitage High alum prevailed in the 60-meter hurdles at the indoor national meet earlier this season.
“It feels really good. Coming from seasons past with injuries, changing coaches and changing training styles, this is kind of icing on the cake along with graduating and all the other great things that have happened this year,” Harrison said. “All the support team has been great, the training staff, the strength and conditioning staff and everybody. I would like to thank them because they have been a big part of my success here.”
Tech sprints, hurdles and jumps coach, in his first year with the Hokies, attributed Harrison’s work ethic and coachibility to her success this season.
“Our whole effort this year, we wanted to be undefeated and we wanted to complete the double with the 100- and 400-meter hurdles,” sprints, hurdles and jumps coach Charles Foster said. “The schedule allowed us ample time to do that, so we achieved it. We worked so well together. It is hard to describe how well we bonded this year, in my first year, to achieve those feats.
Senior Kristi Castlin finished fourth in the women’s 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.00, garnering the seventh All-America honor of her career. The Douglasville, Ga., native’s seven All-America accolades is a program best, breaking her tie with former Tech thrower Brittany Pryor who claimed six All-America honors throughout her Hokie tenure.
In distance action, sophomore Will Mulherin collected All-America accolades for the first time with a fifth-place showing in the men’s 5,000-meters. Mulherin stayed with the lead pack until the last lap, and finished extremely strong, crossing the line in 13:50.76. The time set a Tech record in the race, beating the former standard of 13:52.00, set by Steve Taylor in 1987.
Senior Igor Misljenovic closed out his collegiate career with a 14th-place effort in the men’s shot put. The Zagreb, Croatia, native tossed a mark of 57-10.50.
“The women getting fifth is the highest we have ever been, I am a little disappointed we didn’t get fourth, but we just missed it,” Tech Director of Track and Field Dave Cianelli said. “Queen had a phenomenal meet, it is the first time anyone has ever doubled in those events, and Will Mulherin ran a great race to get us into the top ten on the men’s side. It puts us in an elite group of schools, where both the men’s and women’s programs are ranked in the top ten. Only a handful of programs can say that, and that is certainly something to be proud of.”