BLACKSBURG, Va. – The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Association (USTFCCCA) announced its honorees for Region Athletes and Coaches of the Year for the Division I indoor season, and two of Virginia Tech’s own were among those named. Director of Track and Field Dave Cianelli was named the Southeast Region Men’s Head Coach of the Year, while pole vault coach Bob Phillips was named Southeast Region Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year.
This season, Cianelli helped guide the men’s team to its first ever ACC Indoor Championship with 140 points, the highest point total at the conference meet since 2006. The Hokies overcame traditional powerhouse Florida State by 42 points, the largest margin of victory since 2008. The men’s team earned three event titles with 12 student-athletes earning All-ACC honors. Additionally, two ACC champions, Alexander Ziegler and Michael Hammond, both automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships. Cianelli earned regional honors during the 2007 and 2008 seasons as the East Region Coach of the Year. He also earned ACC Women’s Indoor and Outdoor Coach of the Year honors during those seasons, and was the 2010 ACC Men’s Outdoor Coach of the Year.
One key ingredient to the men’s conference title was the consistently stellar pole vault group, headed by Bob Phillips in his 29th season as the Hokies’ pole vault coach. Tech took four of the top five spots in the event at the conference meet, adding 25 cruicial points to the team’s total on the final day of competition to help seal a victory for the Hokies. Against a veteran field, it was newcomer Stephan Munz who took the top spot, earning the ACC title in his first collegiate competition. Hunter Hall, Yavgeniy Olhovsky and Joe Davis took third, fourth and fifth, respectively. All four vaulters’ top marks this season currently rank in the top 20 nationally.
The NCAA Championship fields will be announced on Monday, March 7 and all qualifying Hokies will be heading to College Station, Texas for the NCAA Championships with events beginning Friday, March 11.