Four Hokie women selected All-ACC Academic

BLACKSBURG, Va. – Three Virginia Tech sprinters, freshman Funmi Alabi, sophomore Ogechi Nwaneri and junior Kristi Castlin, as well as a pole vaulter, junior Kelly Phillips, all received spots on the All-ACC Academic Women’s Indoor Track and Field team, the conference announced on Wednesday.

Castlin earned the fourth conference academic accolade of her career and is in the midst of one of the best campaigns in school history. The Douglasville, Ga., native finished second in the 60-meter hurdles at both the ACC Indoor Championships and the NCAA Indoor meet, tallying her sixth All-America honor. Castlin, a political science major, currently owns the fourth-best time in the nation in the 100-meter hurdles.

A Blacksburg, Va., native, Phillips notched ACC All-Academic honors for the third time in her career. The human nutrition, foods and exercise major cleared a season-best 12-11.50 for fourth place in the pole vault at the ACC Outdoor Championships.

Nwaneri and Alabi both recorded their first ACC All-Academic team spots on Wednesday. Alabi came in second in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.37 seconds at the ACC Indoor Championships. Nwaneri scored nine points for the Hokies at the ACC Indoor meet with fourth- and fifth-place finishes in the 60- and 200-meter dashes, respectively. Alabi is enrolled in university studies, while Nwaneri is a human, nutrition and foods major.

Selections for the All-ACC Academic team must have earned a 3.0 GPA during the fall semester and for their careers, with selection based on athletic merit. The Hokies travel to Clemson, S.C., for the ACC Outdoor Championships on Thursday-Saturday. Results will be available on hokiesports.com.