BLACKSBURG, Va. – Virginia Tech wrapped up three days of competition at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Pa., while also sending a contingent of competitors down to Radford, Va., for the running of the Radford Invitational.
Tech’s two field event competitors at the Penn Relays won their events, as All-ACC performer David Wilson came out on top in the triple jump (51-0, 15.54m) and ACC champion Jared Jodon won the pole vault (17-0.75, 5.20m). In the men’s mile, Will Mulherin placed fifth in 4:04.93 with Jason Cusack in 12th at 4:08.89. In the relays, the Hokies’ 4x800-meter team of Nick McLaughlin, Tihut Degfae, Michael Hammond and Ryan Witt placed sixth, crossing the line with a new school record at 7:21.28.
In Radford, the Hokie distance runners showed up in full force, accounting for the majority of the competitors in their respective events. In the women’s 800 meters, Lauren Lemieux came out on top with a new PR of 2:13.18 that is a new stadium record at Radford. The Hokies swept the top three spots in the event, with Sammy Dow (2:14.20) and Lauren Pinkston (2:14.52) placing in second and third, respectively. Dow and Lauren Lemieux paired up for a one-two finish at the top of the 1,500 meters, both setting times that beat the previous stadium record, with Dow (4:29.04) just edging out Lemieux (4:30.40). The men took four of the top five spots in the 800 meters, with Kieran Lee winning the event (1:54.08) and Grant Pollock (1:55.17), Ryan Hagen (1:55.43) and Devin Cornwall (1:55.81) finishing third, fourth and fifth, respectively. Tech athletes took four of the top five spots again in the 1,500 meters, with Eddie Judge, competing unattached, leading the charge in second (3:49.39) followed by Cornwall (3:50.35), Hagen (3:51.15) and Lee (3:52.07).
Like their counterparts in Pennsylvania, the field event competitors at Radford also represented Tech well. Rene Stauss won the high jump with a new personal-best height of 6-10.75 (2.10m). Hunter Hall and All-ACC performer Joe Davis took the top two spots in the men’s pole vault, with Hall vaulting 16-7 (5.05m) and Davis 16-1 (4.90m). Both marks beat the previous stadium mark of 16-0 (4.87m).
Kelly Phillips also competed at the Steve Scott Invitational, hosted by UC Irvine, and placed second in the pole vault at 12-10.25 (3.92m).
Next week the Hokies will compete in a mid-week twilight meet, as they travel to Lynchburg, Va., for the Liberty Twilight on Thursday, May 5.