INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – 37 members of the Virginia Tech track & field team have qualified for the 2012 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field East Preliminary Round, as announced Thursday by the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Track & Field Committee.
Tech’s entries consist of 24 men and 13 women. 35 Hokies will compete in 25 individual events, while Tech also qualified the men’s and women’s 4x100 meter relays. Five Hokies: Keith Ricks, Darrell Wesh, Jeff Artis-Gray, Ciara Simms and Leah Nugent are entered in multiple individual events. The Hokies have multiple entries in the men’s 1500 meters (4), men’s pole vault (4), women’s pole vault (3), men’s 200 meters (3), men’s 100 meters (2), women’s 200 meters (2), men’s 800 meters (2), men’s 5000 meters (2) and men’s hammer throw (2).
The East Preliminary Round will be held on Thursday-Saturday, May 24-26 at Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. North Florida is serving as the host institution. The top-48 declared student-athletes in each individual event and the top-24 declared relays qualified for the East and West preliminary meets. The West Preliminary Round is at the University of Texas. The top-12 student-athletes and relays from each region then advance to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championship at Drake in Des Moines, Iowa, from June 6-9. In the combined events, the top-24 declared student-athletes advanced directly to the NCAA Championship at Drake.
Below are Tech’s regional qualifiers, listed by event along with their season best performance:
Men (24 qualifiers, 15 individual events, 1 relay)
100 meters
Keith Ricks - 10.21
Darrell Wesh - 10.27
200 meters
Keith Ricks - 20.75
Jonathan McCants - 21.07
Darrell Wesh - 21.14
800 meters
Tihut Degfae - 1:50.08
Martin Dally - 1:50.16
1500 meters
Michael Hammond - 3:39.22
Chris Walizer - 3:42.61
Grant Pollock - 3:44.79
Kevin Dowd - 3:45.79
5000 meters
Will Mulherin - 13:41.06
Thomas Curtin - 14:02.86
10000 meters
Leoule Degfae - 29:46.10
110 meter hurdles
Jeff Artis-Gray - 14.00
3000 meter steeplechase
Jason Cusack - 8:55.36
High Jump
Ronnie Black - 7-3 (2.21m)
Pole Vault
Hunter Hall - 17-8.5 (5.40m)
Joe Davis - 17-4.5 (5.30m)
Mike Miller - 17-4.5 (5.30m)
Chris Uhle - 16-8.75 (5.10m)
Long Jump
Jeff Artis-Gray - 24-9 (7.54m)
Triple Jump
Hasheem Halim - 53-1 (16.18m)
Shot Put
Luka Mustafic - 57-11.75 (17.67m)
Hammer Throw
Alexander Ziegler - 240-1 (73.17m)
Denis Mahmic - 208-0 (63.39m)
Javelin Throw
Matthias Treff - 245-0 (74.68m)
4x100 meter relay
Jeff Artis-Gray, Darrell Wesh, Jonathan McCants, Keith Ricks - 39.95
Women (13 qualifiers, 10 individual events, 1 relay)
100 meters
Ciara Simms - 11.56
200 meters
Ogechi Nwaneri - 23.51
Ciara Simms - 23.83
400 meters
Yvonne Amegashie - 53.25
5000 meters
Sarah Rapp - 16:37.76
100 meter hurdles
Leah Nugent - 13.72
400 meter hurdles
Leah Nugent - 59.68
3000 meter steeplechase
Sammy Dow - 10:07.99
Pole Vault
Martina Schultze - 14-1.25 (4.30m)
Victoria von Eynatten - 13-8.25 (4.17m)
Leigh Allin - 12-8.25 (3.87m)
Shot Put
Valentina Muzaric - 55-2.25 (16.82m)
Hammer Throw
Annjulie Vester - 198-10 (60.61m)
4x100 meter relay
Jameice DeCoster, Ciara Simms, Aunye Boone, Ogechi Nwaneri - 45.33