Hokie ClubNEW ORLEANS – Virginia Tech senior thrower Alexander Ziegler, Director of Track & Field Dave Cianelli, and distance coach Ben Thomas have each earned regional awards for the 2013 indoor season as announced today by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Ziegler was named the Southeast Region Men’s Field Performer of the Year. Cianelli was named the region’s men’s Coach of the Year and Thomas was the men’s Assistant Coach of the Year.
A senior from Dischingen, Germany, Ziegler won the ACC weight throw crown for third time with a collegiate-leading and championships-record throw of 77-8¾ (23.69m). It was the longest collegiate throw since 2010 and places him eighth on the all-time collegiate performers list. This is the second Southeast Region Field Athlete of the Year award for Ziegler after earning the outdoor award last spring.
Cianelli led the Hokie men to their second ACC indoor championship in the last two years, amassing 156 team points in the Championship to finish 17 points ahead of second-place Florida State. Seven of Cianelli’s student-athletes earned gold medals at ACCs, and 13 earned All-ACC honors. He was subsequently named ACC Coach of the Year for the eighth time. This is the 11th time he has been awarded Southeast Region Coach of the Year. It is also his fifth straight dating back to the 2011 indoor season.
Thomas’s distance crew scored a total of 67 points towards Virginia Tech’s total of 153 in winning the men’s ACC Indoor Championship. His athletes won every distance event (800, 3000, 5000, DMR) except the mile run where all four of his athletes finished in the top eight. In the 3000 meters, three of his athletes scored a total of 16 points to clinch the team title. This is the first Southeast Region Assistant Coach of the Year award.
The trio will be in Fayetteville, Ark., this weekend for the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships at the Randall Tyson Track Center on March 8-9.