Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG, Va. – Junior Sammy Dow’s school record in the 3000 meter steeplechase and junior All-American Alexander Ziegler’s NCAA-leading mark in the hammer throw highlighted action Friday as the Virginia Tech track & field teams competed at the Florida Relays at Percy Beard Track in Gainesville, Fla., and the Colonial Relays, hosted by William & Mary, at Zable Stadium in Williamsburg, Va. Redshirt freshman Grant Pollock (1500 meters at Colonial) and junior Jeff Artis-Gray (long jump-university section at Florida) also earned wins for the Hokies.
Running at the Colonial Relays, Dow reset her own school record in the 3000 meter steeplechase with a time of 10:15.91. Dow was the top collegian in the field and she finished second overall as the top three finishers ran under the Colonial Relays meet and Zable Stadium record time. Her time was just off the Olympic Trials “B” (provisional) qualifying standard of 10:15.00.
At the Florida Relays, Ziegler, the defending national champion in the hammer throw, posted the top mark in the NCAA in the event entering the weekend with a second place throw of 235-10 (71.88m) in the invitational section of the hammer. Fellow junior All-American Denis Mahmic turned in a seventh place showing in the event, throwing a season best 203-9 (62.10m).
Continuing with action at William & Mary, Pollock won the men’s 1500 meters with a big personal best of 3:44.79, good for No. 6 on Tech’s all-time performance list. Senior All-Americans Michael Hammond (3:45.33) and Will Mulherin (3:47.36) finished second and seventh, respectively.
Junior Jason Cusack was the second collegian and fourth overall finisher in the men’s 3000 meter steeplechase (9:08.36). Junior All-American Frances Dowd was fourth in the 800 meters, running 2:09.33 and freshman Amanda Smith was 10th (2:10.61), good for No. 8 all-time at Tech.
In the men’s 800 meters, Tech took fourth and fifth place behind senior Chris Walizer (1:51.89) and junior Tihut Degfae (1:52.11).
Freshman Thomas Curtin posted the sixth fastest 5000 meter time in Tech history as he led the Hokies in 14:07.71, good for 11th place overall. Curtin’s classmate, Sarah Rapp, led the Hokie women in the 5k as she finished ninth in 16:42.22.
In addition in Gainesville, Artis-Gray won the university section of the men’s long jump with an outdoor personal best mark of 24-9 (7.54m), just one inch shy of the school record held by Jerry Gaines since 1971. Artis-Gray also ran a personal best 14.13 in the 110 meter hurdles into a slight head wind, which puts him into a tie for fourth all-time at Tech.
Sophomore Darrell Wesh continued to run well this season as he won section three of the 100 meters in a personal best 10.31 and finished sixth overall.
Junior Yvonne Amegashie moved into third all-time at Tech with a personal best 400 meter time of 54.13. Freshman Ciara Simms won section four in the 100 meters in a windy 11.57 and finished ninth overall. Freshman Leah Nugent won section four of the women’s 400 meter hurdles in a season best 59.68, which ranks fifth in Tech’s record books.
Also of note in the hammer at Florida, Marcel Lomnicky, who is now competing unattached after wrapping up his Tech career this indoor season, threw a personal best 254-0 (77.43m) to win the event. Lomnicky’s mark currently ranks No. 5 in the world and nearly met the 2012 London Olympic Games “A” standard of 78.00m.
The Hokies will wrap up the Florida Relays and Colonial Relays tomorrow with events beginning at 9 a.m. in both locations.