Hokie ClubFAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Senior Queen Harrison cemented her place as one of the most accomplished track and field athletes in Tech history on Saturday at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., winning the first national championship for the Tech women ever. Harrison captured the 60-meter hurdle title, the men’s squad finished 19th in the team race with 10.5 points and the women’s team tied for 10th, earning 18 points to highlight the final day of competition.
Harrison earned first place in the 60-meter hurdles after running her sixth-straight, sub-eight second. She clocked a 7.95 in the race. In her time at Tech, the Richmond, Va., native became the first track and field Olympian at Tech, the first Hokie woman to run under eight seconds in the 60-meter hurdles and now the first women’s track and field national champion in school history. Harrison’s victory is also Tech’s first national championship outside of the men’s hammer throw.
“It feels great, it feels like a lot of hard work has paid off,” Harrison said. “It feels really good that I’m not just a long-hurdler, but a short-hurdler as well. I had a lot of hopes in the long hurdles early in my career, but I didn’t really feel like I would be a contender in the 60-hurdles, so to come in and win the national championship is definitely an exclamation point on my career.”
Joining Harrison on the podium for the women’s 60-meter hurdles, senior Kristi Castlin took second in the race, matching her career best of 8.01. With the runner-up finish, Castlin added her sixth All-America honor to her resume, a program best. Both Harrison and Castlin embraced as they saw each other’s times.
“Just remarkable,” Tech Director of Track and Field Dave Cianelli said. “Queen and Kristi ran really great races in the final. They were well prepared by [sprints, hurdles and jumps coach] Charles Foster. To get first and second at the national championships you couldn’t ask for a better way to end up their careers.”
Freshman Alexander Ziegler became the second consecutive Hokie newcomer to earn All-America honors in the men’s weight throw on Saturday. Ziegler, who won the ACC title in the event two weeks ago, tossed a mark of 72-06.25 to place third. The Dischingen, Germany, native is the fourth All-American in the men’s weight throw in school history. Sophomore Marcel Lomnicky, who tallied All-America honors last year as a freshman, finished 12th on Saturday with a throw of 66-05.75.
Rounding out the Hokie competitors at the national meet, sophomore Hasheem Halim leaped 51-07 for 10th place in the men’s triple jump, only one place away from All-America recognition. Halim set the school record in the event at the ACC Championships two weeks ago to secure a bid his first NCAA meet.
Four Hokies achieved All-American status on the weekend, as senior Yavgeniy Olhovsky tied for fourth in the men’s pole vault last night. The Petah-Tikya, Israel, native cleared 17-06.50 en route to the fifth All-America accolade of his career.
“On the men’s side we didn’t have a great meet, but we had individuals who had great meets,” Cianelli said. “Alexander had a good meet, coming in third in the nation and finishing third, and Yavgeniy had a solid meet, tying for fourth. We were hoping for a top-10 finish, but we held on for the top 20. We are a young team, and a lot of people are coming back for us next year. So now we will just get ready for the outdoor season.”
The tied-for-10th finish equals the best finish in school history on the women’s side. The Hokie women tied for 10th in 2008 as well. The Florida men won the national championship with 57 points, while the Oregon women ran away with the national title, tallying 61 points.
The NCAA meet wraps up the indoor season. The Hokies will next compete at the Clemson Invitational on March 19-20 in Clemson, S.C., and the Miami Inviational in Miami, Fla., on March 20. Results will be available on hokiesports.com.
Men’s Results
Weight Throw – 1, Walter Henning, LSU, 77-03.75, 2, Steffen Nerdal, Memphis, 76-02.25, 3, Alexander Ziegler, Virginia Tech, 72-06.25, 4, Leif Arrhenius, BYU, 70-09, 5, Aaron Studt, Minnesota, 69-07.50, 6, Jason Lewis, Arizona State, 69-04.75, 7, KP Singh, Oklahoma, 69-03.50, 8, Mike Zajac, South Carolina, 68-10.50
Triple Jump – 1, Christian Taylor, Florida, 56-04.50, 2, Zedric Thomas, LSU, 53-05.75, 3, Alphonso Jordan, Georgia Tech, 53-04.25, 4, Tyron Stewart, Texas A&M, 53-02.75, 5, Zuheir Sharif, Texas A&M, 53-02.25, 6, Kyron Foster, Michigan State, 53-02.25, 7, Omar Craddock, Florida, 53-00, 8, Zacharias Arnos, Boise State, 52-07.50, 9, Andre Black, Louisville, 51-10.50, 10, Hasheem Halim, Virginia Tech, 51-07
Women’s Results
60-Meter Hurdles – 1, Queen Harrison, Virginia Tech, 7.95, 2, Kristi Castlin, Virginia Tech, 8.01, 3, Ti’erra Brown, Miami, 8.08, 4, Natasha Ruddock, Texas A&M, 8.09, 5, Gabby Mayo, Texas A&M, 8.12, 6, Chelsea Carrier, West Virginia, 8.39, 7, Christina Manning, Ohio State, 8.30, 8, Vanneish Ivy, North Carolina, 8.75