CLEMSON, S.C. – After an exciting first day of the ACC Indoor Championships, Sean Murphy broke the Virginia Tech record in the heptathlon, and the Hokies set the stage for a thrilling Saturday by sending 10 athletes to the finals of their events.
This morning saw the conclusion of the heptathlon, with athletes competing in the 60m hurdles, the pole vault, and the 1000m. The star of the show was Sean Murphy, who recorded career bests in the pole vault at 13' 1.5" (4.00m), and the 1000m with a time of 2:47.07. Across the weekend's events, Murphy posted five personal records on the way to a career best in heptathlon points, finishing with 5,350. That total earned Murphy a bronze medal as the third best in the ACC, and shattered Tech's previous school record by 68 points.
"I could not be happier with the performance Sean gave this weekend," Head Jumps Coach Paul Zalewski said. "After having surgery to repair his hamstring a year ago, to come here and put down a 400 point personal best, break the school record, and get the bronze is truly incredible. He showed unbelievable toughness and competitiveness."
On the women's side, two athletes recorded valuable points for the Hokies. Ellie Vest posted PRs in the 60m hurdles and the shot put to finish the pentathlon with 3,660 points and eighth place. In the long jump, Eszter Bajnok reached the finals and jumped a season best 19' 6.25" (5.95m), also earning eighth place.
"I was so proud of Ellie's effort today," Coach Zalewski said. "She didn't jump as well as we expected in the high jump, but she stayed focused, gave a PR performance in the shot, and a good long jump. She was 12th going into the 800m and put in a great effort to race herself up four spots into scoring position. She's a fighter and I couldn't be prouder."
Friday's running events were filled with preliminaries, as 10 Hokies advanced to their finals on Saturday. Clinching appearances in the finals tomorrow thanks to these qualifying times are:
Hannah Ballowe – mile, 4:46.11
Tyler Leeser – mile, 4:05.51
Ben Fleming – mile, 4:05.03
Fitsum Seyoum – mile, 4:04.80
Ethan Mills – mile, 4:04.40
Cole Beck – 60m dash, 6.75
Kennedy Dennis – 60m dash, 7.49
Caitlan Tate – 400m, 54.32
Patrick Forrest – 400m, 47.37
Jacory Patterson – 400m, 46.11
After Friday's events, the men's team holds the team points lead with 48, and the women's team is in sixth with 18.5 points.
Action begins on the final day of the ACC Indoor Track and Field Championships at 10:30 with the men's triple jump, while a full slate of track finals begins at noon. ACCN will broadcast Saturday's events right at the beginning of the field events at 10:30.
Gallery: (2-26-2021) 2021 ACC INDOOR TRACK & FIELD DAY 2
