Tech men finish 6th; Hokie women take 9th place

Hokies have one ACC champion and 13 scores on the last day of the ACC Outdoor Championships

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Virginia Tech\'s men\'s team finished in sixth place with 60 points while the Hokie women took ninth place with 48.5 points at the 2005 Atlantic Coast Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships, which was held at the Mike Long Track on the campus of Florida State all weekend.

The Florida State men and Miami women captured the team titles. The sixth place Hokie men beat NC State, Wake Forest, Maryland, Duke and Miami while Tech\'s women\'s team edged out Wake Forest and Maryland for the ninth spot. Today, the last day of the championships, Tech had an ACC individual champion and a total of 13 athletes score points.

Hokie Head coach Dave Cianelli stated, \"We had an outstanding meet. All of our athletes performed to the best of their ability and helped our teams finish strong. I couldn\'t ask for more. The conference championship doesn\'t mark then end of our season. We still have two more outdoor meets and then 12 athletes will compete at the NCAA East Regional Championships on May 27-28. After the regional championships, we hope to have several athletes compete at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in June. So our athletes are still training, competing and improving.\"

Brian Mondschein (Jr., Hummelstown, Pa.) clinched the ACC men\'s pole vault title by clearing a school season best and personal record height of 17\'6.50\" (5.35m). Mondschein\'s mark moved him up to the top spot in the NCAA east region and into the top-10 in the nation. Mondschein is a two-time BIG EAST and now a two-time ACC champion in the event.

Adam Bingaman (So., New Berlinville, Pa.) placed sixth in the pole vault by tying his personal record mark of 16\'2.75\" (4.95m) while Joe Samaniuk (So., Rexford, N.Y.) tied for ninth place in the event with 15\'3\" (4.65m).

Sven Hahn (Jr., Stutggart, Germany) broke teammate Ryan Norwood\'s school record in the shot put with a mark of 61\'11.50\" (18.88m) to claim third place in the event. Hahn, who now moves up to fourth in the NCAA east region and 12th in the nation in the event, earned his second All-ACC honor of the outdoor championships.

Norwood (Sr., Cheyenne, Wyo.) picked up five points for the Hokie men with his fourth place finish in the shot put. Norwood, an NCAA regional qualifier in the event, had a throw of 60\'9.25\" (18.52m). Norwood moves up into the top-20 in the NCAA Division I throwing the shot.

Brian MacPhee (Sr., Golden Lake, Ont.) had a mark of 52\'4.50\" (15.96m) in the shot put to take ninth place. Fifth-ranked Dorian Scott (Florida State) broke the ACC\'s 28 year meet record in the event with his winning throw of 64\'4\" (19.61m).

Tamara Burns (Jr., Elm Creek, Neb.) threw the discus 154\'1\" (49.96m) to place seventh in the event earning two team points for the Hokies. Burns still remains the seventh-ranked discus thrower in the NCAA east region. Billie-Jo Grant (Virginia), ranked second in the region, won the ACC individual title in the event with her throw of 174\'1\" (53.07m).

In the men\'s triple jump, Idikoro Eradiri (So., Ashburn, Va.) finished in fifth place earning four points for the Tech men. Eradiri, an NCAA regional qualifier in the event, recorded a school season best and new personal record mark of 49\'8.25\" (15.14m).

Jason Fludd (Sr., Stafford, Va.) took seventh place in the triple jump with his mark of 49\'1.75\" (14.98m). Rafeeq Curry (Florida State) jumped 52\'4.75\" (15.97) to win the ACC championship in the event.

Marie Giles (Sr., Hampton, Va.), Victoria Green (Jr, Chesapeake, Va.), Jackie Nicholson (Sr., Clayton, N.J.) and Britni Spruill (Fr., Hampton, Va.) placed fourth in the women\'s 4x400-meter relay with the second fastest time in Tech history, 3:43.02. Clemson clocked 3:40.25 to win the ACC title.

Tech\'s women\'s 4x100-meter relay team of Nicholson, Green, Spruill and Shamane Onwudiachi (Sr., Laurel, Md.) finished in eighth place out of the 11 teams with 47.37. The ladies eighth place finish scored one point for the Hokies. Georgia Tech, currently the 12th ranked 4x1 relay team in the nation, had the winning ACC title time of 44.26.

Green earned two team points for Tech by placing seventh in the women\'s 400 meter finals with a time of 55.16. Charlette Greggs (Miami) ran the race in 52.08, which is the current fastest time in the NCAA, winning the ACC individual title.

In the women\'s 400-meter hurdle finals, Nicholson scored two team points for her seventh place time of 1:01.39. The fourth-ranked hurdler in the nation, Dominique Darden (Miami), set a new ACC meet record with her winning time of 56.04.

Giles placed fourth in the women\'s 800 meter finals with a time of 2:09.92. Meredith Brooks (So., Burke, Va.) grabbed seventh place in the race with 2:13.33. Giles, a new NCAA regional qualifier in the event, picked up five points for the Hokie women while Brooks, also a new NCAA regional qualifier, earned two points for her seventh place finish. Erin Donohue (North Carolina) had a winning time of 2:09.06 to become the ACC champion in the event.

Anthony Jenkins (Sr., Baltimore, Md.) had a time of 55.30 to place eighth in the men\'s 400-meter hurdle finals. Jenkins grabbed one point for Tech\'s men\'s team. Elliot Wood (Florida State) clocked one of the top-10 times in the nation, 50.92, to win the conference title.

In the men\'s 4x400-meter relay race, Tech\'s team of Fludd, Jenkins, Jordan Price (Fr., Newport New, Va.) and Matt Renninger (Jr., Barto, Pa.) took eighth place with 3:17.34. Florida State, a top-10 team in the nation running the 4x4, ran the race in 3:08.58 to claim the ACC championship.

Price, Fludd, Renninger and David Clowney (So., Delray Beach, Fla.) ran on Tech\'s men\'s 4x100-meter relay team which placed 10th with a time of 42.45. Ninth-ranked Florida State won the conference title in the event with 39.62.

Natalie Sherbak (Fr., Virginia Beach, Va.) clocked a school season best time of 4:30.33 in the women\'s 1,500 meter finals which placed her ninth out of the 12 runners in the race. Shannon Rowbury (Duke) ran the second fastest time in the NCAA, 4:14.81, to win the ACC title.

David Atkiss (Sr., Hatfield, Pa.) ran the men\'s 5,000 meters in a school season best and personal record time of 14:28.16 to place eighth out of the 37 competitor-field. Atkiss scored one team point for his eighth place finish. Zach Thomas (Fr., Sewickley, Pa.) finished in 22nd place while Rider Clauss (Fr., Madison, Wis.) was 28th. Andrew Lemoncello (Florida State) had the ACC winning time of 14:13.42.

Kristin Hart (Fr., Herndon, Va.) was the first Hokie to cross the finish line in the women\'s 5,000 meters. Hart\'s time of 18.27.91 placed her 29th out of the 37 distance runner-field. Jenn Dietz (So., Springfield, Va.) ran the race in 18:30.06 to grab 30th place and Katie Danyko (Jr., Sterling Hts., Mich.) was the 35th finisher in the 5,000 meters. Julia Lucas (NC State) won the race in a time of 16:23.40, which is the eighth fastest time in the nation, to claim the ACC title.

Virginia Tech next competes at the prestigious Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Pa. this Thursday through Saturday.

ACC Outdoor Track & Field Championships 
Final Men\'s Team Results
1. Florida State (222.5 points)
2. Clemson (151 points)
3. North Carolina (81.5 points)
4. Virginia (80 points)
5. Georgia Tech (65 points)
6. Virginia Tech (60 points)
7. NC State (47 points)
8. Wake Forest (46 points)
9. Maryland (32 points)
10. Duke (27 points)
11. Miami (5 points)

ACC Outdoor Track & Field Championships
Final Women\'s Team Results
1. Miami (142 points)
2. North Carolina (122 points)
3. Georgia Tech (112 points)
4. Florida State (82 points)
5. NC State (67 points)
6. Clemson (62.5 points)
7. Virginia (59 points)
8. Duke (54.5 points)
9. Virginia Tech (48.5 points)
10. Wake Forest (40 points)
11. Maryland (28.5 points)