BOSTON, Mass. – Virginia Tech swept the top-three places in the women’s pole vault and men’s weight throw on Friday as the Hokie men’s indoor track & field team stands in first place and the women are tied for fifth after day two of the 2012 Atlantic Coast Conference Indoor Track & Field Championship at the Reggie Lewis Track Center. Senior All-American Marcel Lomnicky (weight throw) and freshman Victoria von Eynatten (pole vault) won ACC individual titles for Tech as the Hokies swept the weight throw for the second straight year.
“We had some outstanding performances going 1-2-3 in the women’s pole vault and men’s weight throw,” said director of track & field and cross country Dave Cianelli. “We also had a lot of great efforts from the individuals who ran in qualifying heats today and we qualified through pretty much everyone who I expected. Everyone who is competing has to pick it up tomorrow.”
In the team standings after six events scored, the men are first with 40.5 points. Virginia and NC State are tied for second with 37 points and are followed by Duke (26) and Florida State (24). The women stand tied for fifth with 29 points after seven events. North Carolina leads with 35 points, followed by Clemson (34), Duke (31) and Maryland (30). Tech is tied with NC State. The Hokie men are the defending ACC Indoor Champions.
In the men’s weight throw, Lomnicky and fellow All-Americans junior Alexander Ziegler and junior Denis Mahmic went 1-2-3 for the second year in a row at the ACC Indoor Meet, as last year it was Ziegler winning the title with Lomnicky second and Mahmic third.
Lomnicky notched his second ACC weight throw title with a winning throw of 71 feet, nine and a half inches (21.88m). He also won the ACC weight throw crown as a freshman in 2009. Ziegler, the two-time defending champion in the event, was second at 69-11.5 (21.32m) and Mahmic third at 64-0.5 (19.51m). Ziegler and Lomnicky have combined to win the last four ACC weight throw titles and Tech has now won six out of the last eight gold medals in the event.
In the women’s pole vault, von Eynatten and freshman Martina Schultze each cleared 14-1.75 (4.31m), with von Eynatten winning on misses. Both women tied the meet record set by Florida State’s Lacy Janson in 2006 and Schultze set an indoor personal best, as she moved into second all-time at Tech. Brown also set an indoor PR in third at 13-5.75 (4.11m) and is now No. 6 at Tech. The Hokies have now won five out of the last six ACC women’s pole vault titles and it was the first time Tech has swept the women’s vault.
Junior Jeff Artis-Gray and senior All-American Hasheem Halim scored Tech’s first points of the day in the long jump as Artis-Gray was fourth with a mark 24-1.5 (7.35m) and Halim seventh at 23-7.5 (7.20m). Junior All-American Ronnie Black tied for fourth in the high jump at 6-10.25 (2.09m).
Sophomore Scott Campbell finished fifth in the heptathlon with a personal best 4,719 points. Campbell began the day by running a time of 8.91 in the 60 meter hurdles (766 points) and followed with a personal best height of 12-1.25 (3.69m) in the pole vault (533 points). He wrapped up the day running a 2:50.04 in the 1000 meters (765 points).
In addition, redshirt freshman Matt Hoogland (4,587 points) and senior Mike Miller (4,574 points) finished ninth and tenth, respectively, in their first ever heptathlon. Miller ran 9.77 in the 60 meter hurdles (585 points) and then jumped a season-best in the pole vault of 16-4.5 (4.99m) to win that event of the heptathlon and earn 907 points. In the 1000 meters, Miller ran a time of 3:02.58 (639 points). Hoogland ran a 9.55 in the 60 meter hurdles (629 points) and vaulted 14-0.75 (4.29m) in the pole vault to earn 699 points. He concluded his day with a second place showing in the 1000 meters, clocking a time of 2:43.71 (833 points).
The women’s distance medley relay team of sophomore Paige Kvartunas, junior Natalie Woodford, freshman Amanda Smith and junior Sammy Dow were fourth in 11:29.90. The men’s DMR team of redshirt senior Eddie Judge, freshman Walter Mitchell, freshman Kevin DeWillie and redshirt freshman Grant Pollock finished eighth in 9:56.99.
In the preliminary heats on Friday, senior Chris Walizer (4:06.85) and junior Ryan Hagen (4:08.34) advanced to Saturday’s final of the mile run. Walizer posted the second fastest time in the prelims. Artis-Gray won his preliminary heat and posted the third best qualifying time overall (7.83) in the 60 meter hurdles, while Brown ran a season-best 8.40, good for the sixth best qualifying time, which advanced her to the final of the women’s 60 meter hurdles.
Sophomore Darrell Wesh ran a personal best time of 6.72 in the 60 meter dash prelims and advanced to the final tomorrow along with senior Keith Ricks (6.77), who won his qualifying heat. Wesh’s PR puts him in a tie for second all-time at Tech with Andre Davis, behind only Ricks’ school record of 6.61, set earlier this year.
Senior Auyne Boone (55.89) and junior Yvonne Amegashie (55.47) each won their qualifying heats in the 400 meters to advance. In the women’s 60 meters, senior Ogechi Nwaneri (7.48) and freshman Ciara Simms (7.49) advanced in the seventh and eighth qualifying spots. Redshirt senior Ryan Witt (1:51.95) and sophomore Frances Dowd (2:08.19) both won their qualifying heats of the 800 meters to move on to tomorrow’s finals.
Junior Jonathan McCants set a personal best of 21.48 and moved to No. 3 at Tech in the 200 meters as he advanced with the third fastest qualifying time. Nwaneri qualified in the women’s 200 meters in 24.48.
Field events begin tomorrow at 11 a.m. with the men’s shot put and men’s triple jump. Finals of the running events start at 12 noon with the men’s mile.
Fans can get all the information for the 2012 ACC Indoor Track & Field Championship at: http://www.theacc.com/championships/12-indoor-track-field-championship.html