Hokie ClubBOSTON – Virginia Tech runner Shannon Morton was the top collegiate finisher in the mile at Boston University’s “Last Chance” meet held Sunday afternoon on the Terriers’ campus.
The meet featured several post-collegiate athletes in addition to collegiate athletes trying to better their times and distances on the final day to qualify for the upcoming 2016 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Morton, a senior from Chesapeake, Virginia, finished fifth overall with a school-record time of 4 minutes, 35.74 seconds. She held the previous school record of 4:39.38 set earlier this year.
Morton was disqualified from the mile while competing in the finals at the 2016 ACC Indoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday. Tech’s coaching staff entered her in the Boston University meet to give her another attempt at qualifying.
“Yesterday [Saturday], Shannon ran the race of her life to nearly win her first ACC mile title,” Tech cross country and distance coach Ben Thomas said. “She led most of the race, then got cut off when two runners passed her, but stormed back to take the lead only to be caught in the last few meters.
“Then we learned she was disqualified – even though she got impeded twice. The officials wouldn’t look at the video we took of the race. Their decision also effectively disqualified her from the NCAA Championships. As a senior, she was shattered and then she got angry. So she decided to fight back the only way she could.
“I’ve been coaching for 22 years. I’ve had the good fortune to coach ACC champions and NCAA champions, but Shannon’s triple – she ran the mile in the qualifying round Friday and in the finals on Saturday and then she ran it today – is one of the most impressive performances of any athlete I’ve had. I’m so happy for her. I’m inspired by the resilience and fight she displayed. She’s a champion in my book.”
Morton’s time of 4:35.74 now ranks sixth nationally according to Track and Field Results Reporting System. Barring something unforeseen, she will qualify for the mile when the NCAA announces the field for each event later this week.
The 2016 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships will be held March 11-12 in Birmingham, Alabama.