Hokie ClubNCAA Indoor Championships
March 8-9, 2013
Randal Tyson Track Center
Fayetteville, Ark.
Live Results: http://www.flashresults.com/2013_Meets/indoor/03-08-NCAA/
Live Broadcast: ESPN3
Click the "complete meet notes" link for all Virginia Tech entries and additional information
Previewing the meet
• The Hokies head into tomorrow’s NCAA Indoor Championsips with one of its most formidable men’s teams in recent history. Only five other school’s have more entries than Viginia Tech’s seven.
• Arkansas leads the field with 19 entries, followed by Florida with 11. Oregon, Texas A&M and Wisconsin are all just behind them with nine apiece.
• Leading the Hokies is six-time All-American and back-to-back hammer throw champion Alexander Ziegler. The senior has finished runner-up once and took third twice at the NCAA championships in the weight throw. He goes into this year with the top mark in the event, nearly four feet beyond the next competitor. His mark of 77-8.75 (23.69m) is eighth all-time in NCAA history.
• Jeff Artis-Gray is the men’s next highest-ranked athlete in the field as he comes in at fourth in the long jump, the first event of the weekend for the Hokies.
• Although the women only have one athlete competing this weekend, Martina Schultze is expected to be in the mix in the pole vault as she currently ranks second in the NCAA. Her clearance of 14-7.25m is eighth all-time in NCAA history. Three competitors in the field also have marks that rank in the top 10 all-time.
Throwing from the top
• With a runner-up finish in 2011 and a pair of third-place finishes at nationals in the weight throw, Alexander Ziegler opened up his final season at the Hokie Invitational by setting the nation’s standard. His heave of 70-9.25 (21.57m) was more than a foot further than the next best mark in the NCAA. Still, the throw was nearly five feet short of his personal best of 75-7.25 (23.04m).
• A week later, he upped his season-best mark to 71-7.5 (21.83m)which ranked third in the NCAA.
• Two weeks later at the ACC Championships, Ziegler erased the both his personal best and the conference meet record with a heave of 77-8.75 (23.69m), the NCAA’s longest throw since February 26 when Walter Henning of LSU 78-1, 23.80 at the Southeastern Conference Championships. The mark is nearly four feet beyond this season’s next best throw.
• His mark ranks eighth all-time in NCAA history.
• Ziegler was named Southeast Region Men’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Year this week. It is his second region award after being named Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year last spring.
Hokies can fly
• Three Hokies who attempt to defy gravity will be competing this weekend at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Along the way, each have broken school records in their event.
• After claiming the indoor high jump record last season, Ronnie Black reboke his record in the second meet of the season.
• Martina Schultze has twice broken school record in the pole vault. She originally broke the year-old record at the VT Elite Meet, but she again flew past it as she claimed ACC gold.
• Also on his way to ACC gold, Jeff Artis-Gray flew past the long jump record which was set in 1984, more than six years before he was born.
Nothing like waiting until the last minute
• At last weekend’s Alex Wilson Invitational, the Hokies added a pair of NCAA Championship qualifiers to its squad.
• The first night saw the Hokies roll out a completely different team in the DMR than the one fans saw capture gold at the ACC Championships, the first-ever for the men’s program. Although the team of Ryan Hagen, Jeff Artis-Gray, Tihut Degfae and Michael Hammond were more than a half second behind the school record, The group finished second in their heat and 10th overall to earn their spot at nationals.
• The top 12 teams in the event will be running this weekend in the DMR.
• With one more opportunity to extend his career another week, Will Mulherin made his last chance count as he rebroke his school record in the 3,000 meters and earned his first trip to the indoor championships.
We own them all
• With their ACC indoor championship, the Hokie men now hold all three championships at the same time after winning the 2012 outdoor title last spring and the 2012 cross country title this fall. Florida State is the only other school in the ACC to perform this feat since the ACC indoor championships resumed in 1987.
A golden weekend
• The Hokies scored their most points at an ACC indoor championship (153) to top the Seminoles by 17 points. The 153 points is only a half point behind Tech’s outdoor total from the past two seasons when the squad finished 1st and 2nd.
• In all, the Hokie men came away with a massive haul that included seven ACC individual titles, three school records and one conference championship record which coincidently kicked off Tech’s title run.
• The seven individual championships are the most for a Hokie squad at a conference championship since 2000 when Tech won 12 events en route to their fourth-straight Atlantic 10 indoor title.
• The meet record came after the roar heard around Rector from two-time NCAA hammer throw champion Alexander Ziegler. With a yell that turned heads, the senior let the 35 lb. weight fly until it landed more than 77 feet from where he was standing. No one in the NCAA has recorded a throw that far since 2009. Along with the Tomas Kruzliak and Denis Mahmic, the trio continued Tech dominance with the third straight sweep of the event at the ACC championships.
• Later that evening, Jeff Artis-Gray shattered a near 30-year record in the long jump, Thomas Curtin slipped past 5,000-meter record set in 1987 and the men’s DMR team captured the first-ever ACC championship in the event for the men’s program. Not to be outdone, Martina Schultze smashed her own personal record and the conference meet record in the women’s pole vault with her mark of 14-7.25 (4.45m).
• Things continued to click on the final day with the men grabbing four scoring spots in the mile, Stephan Munz claiming the pole vault title at the same mark as he did two years ago, Jonathan McCants breaking the school record in the 200 meters and Tihut Degfae (800 meters) and Will Mulherin (3,000 meters) pulling off gutsy finishes to grab individual ACC crowns.
Contenders
• Since 2009, the men have not finished outside of the top three at the championships, scoring 95-plus points in each meet.
• The Hokie men captured their first ACC championship two years ago in Blacksburg, the last year Virginia Tech hosted the indoor championships after it moved to Boston last year. The Hokies won the meet running away, putting up 140 points, 42 ahead of second place Florida State.
Back for another championship
• When Virginia Tech snapped Florida State’s run of eight-straight ACC indoor titles, three individual winners from that team will suit up for this year’s Hokies; Michael Hammond (mile), Stephan Munz (pole vault) and Alexander Ziegler (weight throw). Both Munz and Ziegler won their events again in 2013.
• Last season, Tech was without the services of Hammond and Munz during the championship, while Ziegler took second to Tech’s 2012 NCAA Champion Marcel Lomicky.
• A total of 14 athletes who competed on the men’s 2011 indoor team were in unform at the 2013 championships..
Throwing domination
• The men’s weight throw trio of Alexander Ziegler, Denis Mahmic and 2012 NCAA weight throw champion Marcel Lomnicky were able to put stranglehold on the event at the past two ACC championships, sweeping the event in back-to-back years. Only one thrower from another school was even able to hit a mark over 19 meters (62-8).
• Despite the graduation of Lomnicky, the new trio of Ziegler, Mahmic and freshman Tomas Kruzliak were able to make it three in a row at the 2013 championships as Ziegler led the group with the nation’s best throw and an ACC Championship record at 77-8.75 (23.69m).
Versatility creates points
• Since joining the Hokies in 2011, the Hokies have relied on Jeff Artis-Gray score as many points as possible in as many ways as possible. In two ACC indoor championships, the senior has combined to score 26 in four different events. Six points have come in the 4x400 relay, while the rest have come in the 60m hurdles, long jump and triple jump.
• The senior was able to provide a whopping 22 points to the team total in 2013 as he won the long jump, took third in the 60m hurdles and ran on the 4x400 relay team that also placed third.
• Artis-Gray won’t get a break this weekend either as he pulling double duty on Friday night. He is scheduled to compete in both the long jump and DMR.
Lucky number three
• In his last ACC championship, Alexander Ziegler won his third individual ACC Indoor Championship this weekend in the weight throw. Ziegler had previously won the event in 2010 and 2011.
• This was his last chance at earning an ACC crown as his eligibility is up after the indoor season.
We make it look easy
• Combined, the men’s and women’s teams have broken eight school records this season.
• Jeff Artis-Gray (60m hurdles) and Jonathan McCants (300m) each reset their school records on the first weekend of action at the VT Invitational.
• A week later, Ronnie Black topped his previous record in the high jump.
• Last weekend, Will Mulherin reset his 3000-meter record, while Martina Schultze broke Victoria von Eynatten’s record in the pole vault which was set last year.
• At the ACC Indoor Championships, Schultze reset her record in the pole vault, while Artis-Gray (long jump), McCants (200 meters) and Thomas Curtin (5,000 meters) stamped their names in the Tech record book.
• Despite resetting his school record in the 3,000 meters earlier this season, Mulherin needed to break his mark again to qualify for nations. In typical fashion, the redshirt senior came through in the clutch, shaving three-plus seconds off his record time to qualify.
Separating from the pack
• Jeff Artis-Gray is now in possession of five Virginia Tech records, which is currently the most of anyone. Before breaking a near 30-year old record in the long jump at the 2013 ACC Indoor Championship, he was previously tied at four with teammate Michael Hammond and former Hokies Gary Cobb, Keith Ricks and Ryan Witt.
• With outdoor eligibility still remaining this year, Artis-Gray will have the opportunity to add to his legacy in Blacksburg this spring.
Vaulting into the record books
• Two-time All-American Martina Schultze has won three straight pole vault competitions this year, topping out at a school-record mark of 14-4.5 (4.38m) on her first attempt at the VT Elite Meet.
• The sophomore moved to second in the NCAA at the ACC Indoor Championships as she shattered her school record with a vault of 14-7.25 (4.45m). Not only was the mark a school record, it was also a new meet record and a European Indoor Championships qualifying mark. The vault ranks eighth all-time in NCAA history.
Jumping to new heights
• Already in possession of Tech’s indoor and outdoor high jump records, Ronnie Black has no where to go but up, distancing himself from the others on the list. The senior did just that on Jan. 26, increasing his record two more inches to 7-4.25 (2.24m).
Distancing themselves from history
• With Ryan Hagen’s addition to the school’s top 10 list in the 3000m, the current Hokies roster boasts all but three of the top times.
• Will Mulherin owns the school record at 7:52.54, more than 10 seconds clear of second . Michael Hammond, Thomas Curtin, Brayden Burleigh, Leoule Degfae, Jared Berman and Hagen are all within six seconds of one another.
• Mulherin reset his school record at the Husky Classic on Feb. 9.
What learning curve
• Despite never having competed in the weight throw prior to coming to Tech from Slovakia, Tomas Kruzliak heaved the 35-lb. weight just over 65 feet it his first competition. He has since eclipsed 69 feet and will compete at the indoor championships in his first season as a Hokie.
Quick out of the blocks
• Seniors Jeff Artis-Gray and Jonathan McCants opened up their seasons at VT Invitational by topping their already school record marks in the 60m hurdles and 300m.
• After finishing his prelim in the 60m hurdles in 7.87, Artis-Gray shaved a tenth of a second off of his time in the finals to come in at 7.77, 0.04 seconds faster than the school record he set at the VT Elite Meet in 2012.
• Jonathan McCants capped off night one of the VT Invitational by clocking a time of 33.58 in the 300m, nearly five tenths of second faster than his previous school record of 34.05 which he set at the Hokie Invitational in 2012.
Bowerman watch
• After finishing last season as a semifinalist for the prestigious Bowerman Award, Tech thrower Alexander Ziegler was named to the Preseason Watch List prior to the 2013 season.
• The senior from Dischingen, Germany has been piling up accolades since setting foot on campus in 2010, earning All-America honors and medaling in all six seasons while becoming the second athlete in Tech history to win back-to-back NCAA titles in the hammer throw, and the fourth Tech athlete to earn multiple national championships.
Last hurrah
• Jason Cusack, Eric Hoepker, Michael Hammond, Will Mulherin and Alexander Ziegler’s clocks are ticking on the collegiate careers. The quintet have just under two months remaining before their eligibility is up after the indoor season.
German connection
• Currently, the Hokies have nine athletes from Germany competing in four different events. Matthias Treff and transfer Sabine Kopplin in the javelin, Alexander Ziegler and Annjulie Vester in the weight throw/hammer throw, Stephan Munz and Martina Schultze in the pole vault, and Benny Unger in the hurdles.
• The Hokes added two, Jens Merseburg and Sarah Kadelka to the roster during January. Both are javelin throwers from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.
Back in Blacksburg
• After winning the pole vault at the 2011 ACC Indoor Championships in his first-ever event for the Hokies, Stephan Munz was back in Germany last year to complete his undergraduate degree. The Goeppingen native is now back at Tech as a graduate student this year while he continues his Hokie career.
High-flying German
• In her first year at Tech, pole vaulter Martina Schultze made an immediate impact as she earned All-America honors during both seasons and went one-two at the indoor and outdoor ACC Championships with teammate Victoria von Eynatten. Schultze claimed gold at outdoors with Von Eynatten coming out on top at indoors.
A small world
• Associate head coach and throws coach Greg Jack is looking to strike gold for a second time in Nitra, a city 4,700 miles away from Blacksburg, this time in hammer thrower Tomas Kruzliak. The Slovakian hails from the same city as former Hokie and two-time national champion Marcel Lomnicky.
Running into the record books
• Before the indoor season even kicks off, senior Will Mulherin has already supplanted himself as one of the top distance runners in Tech history. During the fall, he became the first two-time All-American cross country runner in Tech history while leading his team to the program’s first ACC Championship as he won the individual crown.
• Last year, he became the first runner in ACC history to win three champions in the 5,000 meters at the ACC Outdoor Championships.
• Against one of the top fields outside of nationals, Mulherin re-broke his school record in the 3000 meters in Seattle with a time of 7:55.64.
Summer success in Mexico
• Junior sprinter Darrell Wesh earned a gold medal last summer at the NACAC Under-23 Championships in Guanajuato, Mexico as he teamed with Charles Silmon, Marcus Rowland and Keenan Brock in the 4x100m relay. Wesh ran the lead leg for the group that ran a time of 38.94, besting teams from the Bahamas (39.65) and Jamaica (39.67).
Seeing double
• When you hear or see the name Degfae, know that it could be either Leoule (Lee) or Tihut (Tee). Since Leoule joined his brother at Tech after transferring from Tennessee after one year, the two have competed together during only two seasons at Tech, once on the cross country team in 2011 and the other was the 2012 outdoor season.
• Leoule redshirted the entire 2011 season after joining the Hokies and Tihut redshirted the 2011 indoor season.
All-American siblings
• By finishing fourth in the 100 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Darrell Wesh joined his older sister Marlena as an All-American in the Wesh family.
• A senior at Clemson, Marlena is a four-time All-American and competed for Haiti in the 2012 Olympic Games.
Sticking to the East
• With only two trips to the West Coast on their travel schedule this year, the makeup of this year’s Hokies show that the team tends to remain east of the Mississippi. The furthest athlete west of Blacksburg is from Huntsville, Ala., and 59 of the team’s 94 athletes are from the state of Virginia.