Hokie ClubFAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Freshman Marcel Lomnicky became Virginia Tech’s first track and field national champion since Spyridon Jullien in 2006, as the Nitra, Slovakia native won the men’s hammer throw on Saturday to highlight the third day of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Fayetteville, Ark.
Lomnicky threw a career-best 235-06 in the event to out-distance the runner-up finisher by over three feet and capture the gold medal. Lomnicky, who earned All-America honors in the weight throw at the NCAA Indoor Championships in March, won Tech’s third hammer throw national title in its history. Jullien garnered the first two with back-to-back victories in 2005 and 2006.
“I really got to give a lot of credit to [throws coach] Greg Jack for preparing Marcel,” Tech Director of Track and Field Dave Cianelli said. “Marcel has been consistent all year long, and has been a great competitor. It is a special thing, winning a national title, because it doesn’t happen all the time, and hopefully there are more in the future for him.”
The women’s hammer throw started the pattern of All-America performances on the day for the Hokies. Sophomore Dorotea Habazin claimed Tech’s first All-America honor of the meet in the event. The Zagreb, Croatia native tossed a 214-11 in the finals to achieve fourth place and All-America accolades for the first time in her career. Habazin’s effort also added five points to the Hokie women’s team score.
Senior Brittany Pryor joined Habazin as an All-American in the women’s hammer throw. Pryor, who moved onto the finals in the women’s discus scheduled for tomorrow, placed 10th in the event with a toss of 188-10. With the finish, the Niagara Falls, N.Y., native tallied her sixth All-America honor.
Two more All-America accolades came by way of the men’s pole vault. Junior Yavgeniy Olhovsky cleared 17-06.50 to tie for fourth place with Marvin Reitze of South Carolina. Olhovsky earned All-American recognition for the fourth time in his career. Joining Olhovsky with an All-American performance in the event, freshman Hunter Hall finished 10th with a clearance of 17-02.75. Hall achieved All-American status for the second time, after recording his first at the NCAA Indoor Championships earlier this year.
In sprints action, junior Asia Washington took fourth place in the women’s 400-meter hurdles and captured the second All-America accolade of her career. Washington, who achieved All-American status at the 2007 indoor national meet by running the 800-meter leg of the fourth-place distance medley relay squad, clocked a 57.05 in the race. The finish earned five more points for the Tech women.
Junior Kristi Castlin qualified for the finals in the 100-meter hurdles, set for Saturday. The Douglasville, Ga., native ran a 13.09, the fourth-fastest time in the field to advance to tomorrow’s race.
“I am very happy with how the group performed,” Cianelli said. “Asia had a career meet, and has come a long way from last year, and Dorotea had a great day in the hammer. I’m really happy with how things have gone, and I am looking forward to tomorrow.”
At the end of the third day, the Virginia Tech men sit in 11th place with 14.50 points, while the Hokie women reside in 19th place with 10 points. The meet will conclude tomorrow, with the women’s discus throw being the first Hokie event, set for noon. Results will be available on hokiesports.com following the conclusion of the meet.
Results
Men
Hammer Throw – 1, Marcel Lomnicky, Virginia Tech, 235-06, 2, Walter Henning, LSU, 232-00, 3, Simon Wardhaugh, Boise State, 230-05, 4, Chris Rohr, Missouri, 226-06, 5, Dimitrios Fylladitakis, UTEP, 223-03, 6, Jason Lewis, Arizona State, 220-06, 7, Nate Rolfe, Georgia, 214-07, 8, John Freeman, Georgia, 213-03
Pole Vault – 1, Jason Colwick, Rice, 18-08.25, 2, Scott Roth, Washington, 18-02.50, 3, Bob Low, BYU, 17-10.50, t4, Yavgeniy Olhovsky, Virginia Tech, 17-06.50, t4, Marvin Reitze, South Carolina, 17-06.50, 6, Nico Weiler, Harvard, 17-06.50, 7, Nick Frawley, Air Force, 17-06.50, 8, Luke Schoen, Albany, 17-06.50
Women
Hammer Throw – 1, Stevi Large, Akron, 223-04, 2, Eva Orban, USC, 221-03, 3, Sarah Stevens, Arizona State, 217-07, 4, Dorotea Habazin, Virginia Tech, 214-11, 5, Krishna Lee, Missouri, 206-07, 6, Sharon Ayala, Fresno State, 200-00, 7, Loren Groves, Kansas State, 199-11, 8, Jasmine Jennings, Rhode Island, 197-04
400-Meter Hurdles – 1, Nicole Leach, UCLA, 55.39, 2, Ti’erra Brown, Miami, 55.98, 3, Dalilah Muhammad, USC, 56.65, 4, Asia Washington, Virginia Tech, 57.05, 5, Deserea Brown, Illinois, 57.31, 6, Fawn Dorr, Penn State, 57.43, 7, Amber Hay, Michigan, 57.44, 8, Latrisha Jordan, Fresno State, 58.19
100-Meter Hurdles (Semis) – 1, Moriam-Seun Adigun, Houston, 12.91, 2, Gabby Mayo, Texas A&M, 13.04, 3, Tiffany Ofili, Michigan, 13.02, 4, Kristi Castlin, Virginia Tech, 13.09, 5, Vanneisha Ivy, North Carolina, 13.19, 6, Loreal Smith, North Carolina A&T, 13.26, 7, Vashti Thomas, Texas A&M, 8, Marrissa Harris, Mississippi State, 13.32, 9, Celriece Law, Tennessee, 13.33