Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG, Va. – Virginia Tech earned two conference honors for the 2011 indoor track and field season, as announced by the ACC office Monday. Dave Cianelli was named the Men’s Track and Field Indoor Coach of the Year while Samira Burkhardt was named the Women’s Indoor Track and Field Freshman of the Year.
This season, Cianelli helped guide the men’s team to its first ever ACC Indoor Championship with 140 points, the highest point total at the conference meet since 2006. The Hokies overcame traditional powerhouse Florida State by 42 points, the largest margin of victory since 2008. The men’s team earned three event titles with 12 student-athletes earning All-ACC honors. Additionally, two ACC champions, Alexander Ziegler and Michael Hammond, both automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships. The Hokies sent six men total to the NCAA Championships, with four earning All-America honors. This is his second conference coaching accolade, as he was named the ACC Men’s Outdoor Coach of the Year last season. Earlier this season, he was named the USTFCCCA Southeast Region Men’s Head Coach of the Year. He also earned regional and conference honors during the 2007 and 2008 seasons as the East Region Coach of the Year and the ACC Women’s Indoor and Outdoor Coach of the Year.
Burkhardt’s honor comes after one of the most successful debut seasons for any Hokie. Burkhardt won five of her six shot put competitions during the season, including an ACC Championship (52-1.25, 15.88m). Her personal best this season of 54-9.25m (16.69m) is just a quarter of an inch shy of the all-time record at Tech. She spent the majority of the season at the top of the ACC performance list and in the top 20 nationally as the highest ranking true freshman in the women’s shot put. Her high spot in the national leaderboards earned her a bid to the NCAA Championships, where she placed 12th (54-3.25, 16.54m) to earn USTFCCCA second-team All-America honors.
Virginia Tech continues its outdoor season this weekend, traveling to Atlanta Ga., for the Yellow Jacket Invite.