Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG, Va. - The atmosphere was electric at Rector Field House on the final day of the 2011 ACC Indoor Championships, as Virginia Tech’s men’s track team earned their first ever ACC title with 140 points. They are the first men’s team to host the meet and win the title since Maryland in 1979 and it is the widest margin of victory since 2008, the highest point total since 2006. This is Virginia Tech’s 12th team title in any sport since joining the ACC in the 2004-05 season. The women finished fourth with 65.5 points.
In total, Tech earned five individual event titles, three mens’ and two women’s , with a total of 12 Hokie men and four women earning All-ACC honors.
“It’s been a five or six year process, but it feels good to win,” said Tech’s Director of Track and Field Dave Cianelli. “We’ve been knocking on the door the past couple years, but I knew this year we’d have an excellent chance. We thought we could have won last year, but we didn’t get hung up on it. We made it a goal to win this year after the 2010 meet and we ran close to a perfect meet this weekend.”
Sophomore Stephan Munz made quite an impression in his Hokie debut, earning the gold medal in the men’s pole vault at 17-9 (5.41m). The Hokies took four of the top five spots in the event, good for 25 team points, which sealed the victory for the Hokies with a 23-point lead with three events remaining. Since 2005, Tech’s first season in the ACC, the Hokies have won five of seven indoor men’s pole vault titles. With Kelly Phillips’ victory in yesterday’s women’s pole vault, the Hokie men and women have won the pole vault in the same indoor season three of the last six years.
The strongest groups of the weekend for the Hokie men were the throwers and pole vaulters, accounting for 49 team points.
“We’ve been really consistent with the throwers and vaulters for a while,” said Cianelli. “But the key this year is that now we can pick up points in other areas too. To win a conference title, you need depth and balance; everyone needs to contribute.”
Michael Hammond started the day off strong for the Hokies, earning his second-consecutive men’s mile title with a push on the last 100 meters to finish at 4:07.47. Teammate Chris Walizer added more points to the men’s total with a fourth-place finish (4:08.67). Samira Burkhardt won Tech’s fifth championship of the weekend, clinching the women’s shot put on her final attempt at 52-1.25 (15.88m).
Hasheem Halim and David Wilson took two podium spots in the men’s triple jump, with Halim in second (51-10, 15.80m) just three-quarters of an inch ahead of Wilson in third (51-9.25, 15.78m). Asia Washington took bronze in the finals of the women’s 400-meter dash, crossing the line with a season-best 53.75. Nick McLaughlin also earned a bronze medal, finishing third in the men’s 800 meters at 1:51.11. Will Mulherin earned a silver medal in the 3,000 meters, finishing in 8:04.59.
Jessica Trapeni and Pagie Kvartunas combined for four team points in the women’s mile, placing sixth (4:53.88) and eighth (4:57.87), respectively. Ebenezer Amegashie and Jeff Artis-Gray finsihed back-to-back in the men’s 60-meter hurdles, with Amegashie in fourth (7.98) just in front of Artis-Gray in fifth (8.01). The women’s 1,600-meter relay squad of Washington, Aunye Boone, Natalie Woodford and Yvonne Amegashie secured the fourth-place team finish for Tech, finishing third in the relay (3:38.16) to put Tech half a point ahead of Miami.
The Hokies host their final home competition of the season next Saturday, March 5 with the Virginia Tech Qualifier.
Final Men'sTeam Standings
1. Virginia Tech (140)
2. Florida State (98)
3. NC State (83.5)
4. Virginia (77)
5. Clemson (73)
6. North Carolina (67.5)
7. Duke (47)
8. Maryland (22)
9. Wake Forest (20)
10. Miami (17)
11. Georgia Tech (12)
12. Boston College (2)
Final Women's Team Standings
1. Clemson (152)
2. Florida State (100.5)
3. North Carolina (69)
4. Virginia Tech (65.5)
5. Miami (65)
T-6. Duke (45)
T-6. Virginia (45)
8. NC State (31)
9. Maryland (28)
10. Boston College (23)
11. Wake Forest (20)
12. Georgia Tech (19)