Hokie ClubEszter Bajnok tied the school record in the long jump, Emma Thor won her second straight meet in the hammer throw and the 4x400-meter relays qualified for the finals, headlining Virginia Tech track and field at the Florida, Raleigh and Texas Relays on Friday.
In the jumps at the Texas Relays at Mike A. Myers Stadium, Bajnok, a sophomore, tied the school record set by April Byrd in 2000, leaping a mark of 6.13 meters (20 feet, 1.5 inches) in the long jump to place fourth. Freshman Stefanie Aeschlimann put together the second-best mark in program history, placing third in the triple jump with a mark of 12.96 meters (42 feet, 6.25 inches).
"I am very pleased with how today turned out for both girls," jumps coach Paul Zalewski shared. "Both opened their outdoor seasons in stellar fashion and it really bodes well for what I think these two can accomplish the rest of the season.
"Eszter started the day with the long jump and came away with a school record performance. She struggled a little early getting comfortable with a longer run, but once the final came around, her competitiveness took over and it started coming together. There's a lot more in the tank, but it was a solid start for her and we know what needs work as the season continues.
"Stefanie did a great job against a good field today. We were having some technical issues early, but her approach was spot on each time and that allowed her to relax and be comfortable with her run. There are still some timing things to work through, but for her to open her outdoor season with a 12.96 meters (42 feet, 6.25 inches) mark and the No. 2 mark in program history, I really couldn't ask for more."
Thor took first place in the hammer throw for the second consecutive week, posting a mark of 62.86 meters (206 feet, 3 inches) at the Florida Relays at Percy Beard Track at James G. Pressly Stadium. Once again, Pavla Kuklova placed second, this time with a mark of 62.49 meters (205 feet, 0 inches) and Kajsa Wennberg tossed a mark of 57.23 meters (187 feet, 9 inches) to place eighth.
Redshirt senior Lindsay Herra followed up her personal-best throw from last weekend by more than three feet in the discus, placing third with a mark of 47.87 meters (157 feet, 1 inch). On the men's side in the same event, Collin McKenny placed eighth with a throw of 47.19 meters (154 feet, 10 inches).
"Overall, this was an interesting day," throws coach Andrew Dubs mentioned. "Having to battle the weather due to rain all day, I thought everyone did an excellent job of staying focused and not letting the elements bother them.
"Lindsay started things off with the best and most consistent series of her career with four throws over 47 meters. I was very pleased with how she competed and just kept attacking each round.
"All three hammer women just picked up right where they left off last week. Again, just like last week, they were all very focused and put together extremely consistent series. When you go to these early season meets, the big things you want to accomplish are consistency in the series. The consistency early on helps set up for big throws later on in the season. I am very excited with what they each have accomplished so far and he signs they each show of big throws to come.
"Collin did a great job battling the rain all day, and improving on last week's mark was huge. Again, same as the others, consistency is huge right now and Collin is doing a good job of steadily improving to set up for a great later part of the season."
The 4x400-meter relays on both sides qualified for the finals, which will take place on Saturday in the final events after 5:45 p.m. ET at the Texas Relays. The men consisting of Greg Chiles, Brandon Thomas, Jared Bane and Michael Davenport ran the fifth-fastest outdoor time in school history, crossing the finish line in 3 minutes, 10.11 seconds to place eighth. The women made up of Courtney Blanden, Caitlan Tate, Kennedy Dennis and Arlicia Bush posted a third-place finish with a time of 3:38.88.
Chiles clocked a time of 50.77 in the finals of the 400-meter hurdles, concluding the individual event in third place.
"I think the 4x4s competed really well today," sprints/hurdles coach Tim Vaught commented. "I think both Courtney and Greg put us on a good pace with running the first leg. There are still a few wrinkles we need to work out, but overall, both sides were able to put together a time that made finals.
"It was great to see Greg run a better race in the finals than he did yesterday in the 400 hurdles. Jared Bane ran on the A-team for the first time and I told him to give me a 47-split – and sure enough he did just that."
Rachel Baxter was the lone pole vaulter from Tech at the Texas Relays, finishing in fourth place with a vault of 4.15 meters (13 feet, 7.25 inches). It was the freshman's first collegiate meet of the outdoor season.
To close the night, the distance group competed at the Raleigh Relays and Sara Freix ran the sixth-fastest time in school history with a time of 34:36.65 in the 10,000 meters. On the men's side in the 5,000, Diego Zarate owned the best time for Tech, crossing the finish line in 14:32.69.
In the 1,500 meters, Laurie Barton registered a time of 4:26.47 and Ben Fleming turned in a time of 3:51.75. In the final event of the night, Peter Seufer ran a time of 29:40.44 in the 10,000 meters.
"I'm pretty pleased with how things went today," distance coach Ben Thomas stated. "We are still training very hard, we are in a base. So, we're racing off some pretty good training and having people do some longer distance races than they normally would do. So overall, it was a pretty good start to the season."
Tech will conclude the weekend tomorrow with the 4x400-meter relays and pole vault at the Texas Relays and the men's javelin at the Florida Relays. Lisa Gunnarsson, Torben Laidig and Deakin Volz will vault in Austin and Marek Barta will toss the first throw of his 2018 season in Gainesville.
REMAINING WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Sat. | Texas Relays | 8:30 a.m. | Live Results | Stream
Sat. | Florida Relays | 9 a.m. | Live Results | Stream