CHARLOTTESVILLE – On a Friday with some of the best weather of the outdoor track & field season, the Hokies turned in big personal bests and new updates to the Tech record book.
Antonio Lopez Segura closed out the night for the Hokies at the Virginia Challenge with one of the greatest 5,000m performances in school history. The Barcelona native stopped the clock at 13:38.22 to take the No. 2 time in Tech history and move into the No. 6 spot in the ACC this season. The Spaniard's time betters his previous career best of 14:02.15, set last year, by nearly 24 seconds and registers as the fastest 5k a Hokie has run in six years.
In the Hokies' first 3000m steeplechases of the year, Ben Fleming and Ben Nibbelink did not disappoint. Fleming finished in fourth with his time of 8:41.14, while Nibbelink set a new career best by over 18 seconds to cross the line in 8:49.70, now ranked No. 8 in Hokies' history. The PR marks Nibbelink's first outdoor appearance since 2019 when he finished as the runner-up in the same event at the USATF U20 Championships.
Several Hokies punched in career bests during the men's and women's 1500m competitions. On the men's side Ethan Mills led the way for Tech with a ninth-place finish in 3:44.38, with Tyler Leeser, Dave Whitfield, and Azaan Dawson also setting career bests. Ava Hassebrock, Grace Boone, Hannah Ballowe, and Ashley Smith all ran the fastest of their careers in the event on the women's side.
On the long jump runway, KJ Moore delivered a season's best of 7.75m (25' 5.25") in the event to finish in fourth place. Freshman Caleb Stephens also stepped up on Friday, setting a career outdoor best with his leap of 7.30m (23' 11.5").
In the heptathlon, freshman Birna Kristjansdottir finished up her first day of competition with strong performances in all four events. Through the 100m hurdles, high jump, shot put, and 200m the Icelandic athlete accumulated 2,885 points and sits as the No. 5 collegian in the competition heading into Saturday's final three events.
Other standouts on Friday included Chase Kappeler, who cruised in her season opener of the women's 3,000m steeplechase with a time of 10:36.33, just off of her career best. Arnav Tikhe debuted for the Hokies in the 10,000m early Friday morning, running the event for the first time in his career and notching a time of 31:35.54.
Saturday looks to be packed for the Hokies, with action starting in South Carolina at 9 AM in the UofSC Open as the pole vaulters get to work. In Charlottesville, competition resumes at noon with the resumption of the women's heptathlon.