Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG, Va. - Pole vaulter Torben Laidig led the Virginia Tech track & field team with another record setting performance at the “Doc Hale” Elite Meet.
The Hokies’ sprinters added several personal best marks to the final day of the meet.
With his 5.62-meter (18-5.25) vault, Laidig set both a new Tech program record and Atlantic Coast Conference record with his second place finish in the pole vault. Tennessee’s Jake Blankenship won the event to lead the nation with a mark of 5.72 meters (18-9.25). Deakin Volz and Brad Johnson rounded out the top-10 with sixth and 10th place finishes.
Nora McKiver led Tech’s sprinters with a seventh place finish in the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.28 to earn the first of five personal bests in the event. Courtney Blanden, Ama-Selina Tchume, Shanel Burr, and Adeyeni Aromolaran each set new personal records in the 200-meter dash.
On the men’s side, Darius Watkins earned a top-five finish with a time of 21.97, narrowly missing new personal best. Freshman Jared Bane placed third in section four with a personal best time of 22.27 with Chester Hebden narrowly behind in 22.30.
The women’s 4x400-meter relay, consisting of Kacia Vines, Shanel Burr, Jada Gundran, and Nora McKiver, improved their time to 3:52.71. The men’s team of Corey Hackett-Greene, Dante Price, Jack Strollo, and Hebden followed suit with another season best time of 3:14.92.
The Hokies return to action on Friday and Saturday at the Iowa State Classic and Samford Invitational in Ames, Iowa and Birmingham, Alabama, respectively.