Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG, Va. - A second-place finish from Stuart Robertson in the 5000, fourth-place finishes from Johnna Dominick and Manuel Ziegler in their respective events and several qualifiers in the preliminary races were the highlights for the Hokies on the second day of the 2015 ACC Indoor Track & Field Championships.
“I was really pleased with today’s efforts. Overall, we did about everything we could and exceeded expectations in some areas,” explained Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Dave Cianelli. “Stuart Robertson earning the silver in the 5000 was way beyond our expectations. Manuel Ziegler is not typically a long jumper and he said he would go out there and try to score some points for us; him claiming fourth in that event was huge for us. In the qualifiers that we made it through in, I feel really good about tomorrow.”
Robertson earned the silver medal after finishing the 5000 with a time of 14:04.97; the fifth fastest time ever ran at Virginia Tech in the distance. Robertson stayed with the pack for the majority of the race, but was able to surge ahead in the final few laps with Syracuse’s Martin Hehir. The two battled on the final lap, with Hehir ultimately claiming the title and Robertson claiming runner-up honors.
Ziegler, competing in the long jump for the first time this season, claimed his fourth-place finish on his first attempt. The Germany native’s jump of 24’3.75” (7.41m) places Ziegler third all-time in the Virginia Tech record books. Ziegler earned five points for Tech.
Dominick matched her career best in the high jump, earning her fourth-place finish with a mark of 5’8.75” (1.75m). Dominick tied with Duke’s Karli Johonnot and the pair claimed 4.5 points apiece.
Several Tech runners also qualified for the finals in their respective events and will be competing for an ACC Championship tomorrow.
Shannon Morton qualified for the finals in the women’s one-mile race after winning her heat with a time of 4:46.22 Morton’s time was the second fastest of any competitor in the preliminary rounds.
Three Hokies powered through to qualify in the men’s one-mile race. First to qualify was Hokie senior Juan Campos. Campos won his heat with a time of 4:03.51. Campos’ time was the fastest of any qualifier. In the next heat, the duo of Patrick Joseph and Neil Gourley earned the automatic qualifying spots by finishing in first and second, respectively.
J.C. Coleman claimed the eighth and final spot in the finals of the men’s 60-meter dash with a time of 6.94 seconds. Coleman narrowly missed qualifying but pulled through by beating Miami’s Jalen Jones by seven-thousandths of a second.
Hanna Green and Amanda Smith both qualified for the finals of the women’s 800. Green qualified by winning her heat with a time of 2:06.61, while Smith qualified by winning her heat with a time of 2:07.77. Green and Smith will be up against some stiff competition tomorrow as the battle with the nation’s leader in the event in Clemson’s Natoya Goule. Smith is the defending ACC Indoor Champion in the event and both Green and Smith earned All-America honors in either the indoor or outdoor season in the distance.
In the men’s 800, Grant Pollock, a three-time ACC Champion, qualified for the finals of the race by crossing the finish line at 1:51.47. That time was enough to win Pollock his heat and earn the automatic qualifying spot.
With a large amount of points still left to claim, the Hokie men are in the running. Quality days in the pole vault, triple jump and several races could put Tech’s men in contention for the title. As things stand, Florida State leads the competition with 30.50 points, North Carolina is in second with 30 points, Duke is in third with 25 points and the Hokies are in fourth with 24 points.
“It’s going to be tight,” Cianelli said of the Hokies’ race to a championship on the men’s side. “Every event where we have someone is big. We have to do well in the pole vault where we’ve typically done well. I think we will do very well in the triple jump with Manuel [Ziegler]. The mile will be a big event for us since we have three qualifiers.”
“Even J.C. [Coleman] sneaking through in the 60 was unexpected, but we’ll expect him to do well. Now that he’s out there, who knows what will happen. Anytime you can pick up even one point in an event you didn’t expect to pick up a point in, that makes a difference at the end of the meet,” concluded Cianelli.
On the women’s side, Tech sits in 10th place with 11.5 total points.
The meet concludes tomorrow with finals in every event. Things kick off at 10 a.m. with the women's shot put and conclude at 3:50 p.m. with the men's 4x400-meter relay.