Former Virginian Preps @ ACC Championships

ACC Championships
MileSplit Staff

There was a large contigency of past Virginia high school preps with strong finishes at this past week's ACC Championships held at Clemson University. Virginia Tech women claimed the team championship, while four former Virginian high school stars won ACC titles in Erin Mahony (Kempsville HS), Jerome Miller (Colonial Forge HS), Patrice Potts (Brunswick Senior HS), and Amy Seward (Salem HS-VA Beach).

Women's Highlights: 

  • Brunswick Senior grad Patrice Potts (Class of 2005) won the ACC title in the 60 meter dash in 7.40. The Virginia Tech sophomore was joined in the finals by Hokies teammate and Bethel grad of 2004 Britni Spruill, who finished fourth in 7.53. Potts and Spruill also made the finals of the 200 meter dash with Potts taking second in 24.17 and Spruill in fourth again at a 24.48 clocking
  • Another Bethel graduate competing for Virginia Tech, Shakirra Pinnock, qualified for the finals of the 400 meter dash and posted a time of 56.07 to finish eighth.
  • After running the fastest time in the prelims of the mile run with a time of 4:54.74, Jemissa Hess, a 2003 graduate of C.D. Hylton, finished third in the finals for NC State. In the same mile finals, Christiansburg alum Kirsten Hagen finished sixth for Florida State University. Hagen broke five minutes in her qualifying race at 4:59.60.
  • Virginia Tech women had two homegrown place scorers in the distance races with Western Albemarle alum Tasmin Fanning in fourth place in the 3K at 9:27.50, while 2004 AAA State 1000 champ from Kellam High School, Natalie Sherbak, finished fifth in the 5K in 16:44.91.
  • Virginia Tech freshmen and 2006 grad of Hermitage High School, Queen Harrison, had an impressive ACC Championship debut with a fifth place finish in the finals of the 60 meter hurdles and also competing on a runner-up DMR (11:26.25) with Tasmin Fanning on anchor.
  • Only a 9" pole vaulter in high school at Kempsville High School, Erin Mahony is now an ACC champion at 13'1.50" as a redshirt junior at Virginia Tech. Virginia high school record holder in the pole vault, Ashley Early (Western Albemarle, Class of 2006) finished second to her Tech teammate Mahony with a clearance of 12'11.50". There were three former Virginia preps scoring in the event with Prince George alum Rhian Jenks tying for the final scoring place in eighth at a height of 12'1.50".
  • One of the greatest jumpers ever in Virginia high school history in Salem (VA Beach) grad Amy Seward won the ACC title in the long jump with a leap of 20'7". The University of Miami star Seward also placed in the triple jump with a fifth place mark of 41'3.25" and stayed on her feet in the pentathlon with a third place finish from a 3925 point total. Two other Virginians scored as well in the triple jump with Woodbridge alum Tomika Ferguson finished fourth in the triple jump for UVA at 42 feet, while Clemson freshmen and past AAA state indoor champion from Hayfield, Nakeisha Wineglass, took sixth at 39'9.25".
  • Wake Forest's Lindsay Neuberger, a product from Cox High School in Virginia Beach, scored in the weight throw with a toss of 56'6.75" to finish eight overall.

Men's Highlights:

  • Multiple state champion in cross country and track at Thomas Dale High School in Chester, Alex Tatu nearly won the ACC title in the 800 meter run with a time of 1:52.32 in the finals to finish second. Tatu had the fastest time in the prelims at 1:52.42. UVA teammate Kevin McHale, whose younger brother Dan currently runs for James Robinson High School where Kevin graduated from in 2003, made the finals for the event as well to score with a seventh place finish (1:55.91). McHale ran a time of 1:53.39 in the prelims to qualify for the finals.
  • McHale and Tatu had a busy weekend for the Cavaliers also running in the prelims and finals of the mile run. McHale was the top finisher for UVA in fifth place at 4:06.78, while Tatu took eighth in 4:15.26. Finishing in between the two former Virginia high school preps was another one in 2004 Midlothian grad Billy Berlin clocking a time of 4:07.00 in the finals to finish sixth.
  • James Robinson alum at UVA ran very well at ACC's as Andrew Dumm took the final scoring position in the 3000 meter run with a time of 8:24.26. Dumm kept another Virginian out of the top 8 with 2002 AA state cross country champion John Crews from Rockbridge County, clocking a time of 8:27.56 to finish ninth for NC State. Both Dumm and Crews had scored in the 5K earlier in the meet with Crews finishing fourth in 14:23.15 and Dumm right behind him in fifth at 14:25.02. Fellow NC State teammate and past AA distance star, Bryce Ruiz from Jamestown High, claimed eighth in the 5K at 14:40.61.
  • ACC freshmen of the year in cross country, 2006 Culpeper County grad Devin Cornwall, ran the fastest freshmen time in the 5K for Virginia Tech with a 11th place time of 14:43.14.
  • Colonial Forge alum Jerome Miller, won the ACC title in the high jump with a clearance of 7'1". Two of the top three finishers in the competition were from Virginin with Miller and Lord Botetourt's AA state champion record holder Adam Linkenauger in third at 6'11.50" for host school Clemson. Miller also placed fourth in the triple jump with a leap of 48'4.50"

Photos of former Virginian preps at ACC's from SCRunners.com:


Robert Gielow (pictured R, Wake Forest) competing in the 800m run at ACC's, ran on the state meet record 4x800 meter relay (7:42) at Midlothian as a foreign exchange student from Germany. Gielow is now back in the states running on a track scholarship for the Deacons. Gielow also holds a special connection as a "MileStat.com alum" as webmaster Brandon Miles hosted Gielow as his exchange student brother.


Ashley Early (pictured above) has had no problem transitioning to college track & field after a stellar prep career at Western Albemarle High School in Charlottesville that concluded with a indoor (12'9") and outdoor (12'10") state records in the pole vault. Early was a runner-up in the pole vault at ACC's at a height of 12'11.50".


Former Virginian preps took the top two places in the pole vault competition with the Virginia Tech pair of Erin Mahony and Ashley Early. While Early was a well known talent in high school as a state record holder, Mahony was well below Early's top heights at 9 feet as a Beach District champion at Kempsville High School. Mahony cleared 13'1.50" to win the competition at ACC's.


Jemissa Hess (pictured above, NC State) is at her second college after starting off in High Point University, but has found great success at her second stop at NC State. The C.D. Hylton alum ran the fastest time in the prelims for the mile at 4:54 and ended up taking third in the finals. Hess qualified for the US National Outdoor Championships last year for 1500 meters.


Last year's Nike Indoor Nationals champion for 800 meters and 2006 graduate of St. Catherine's School in Richmond, Katie Doswell was on hand to cheer on her Duke teammates at the ACC Championships.


Western Albemarle alum Tasmin Fanning (pictured far right, hip #5), had a strong race in the 3K to finish 4th in 9:27 for Virginia Tech.


Former distance star at Warren County, Emily Harrison, finished in the top 10 in both the 3K and 5K for the Hoos with a 9th place time of 9:46 in the 3K and 10th place time of 17:06 in the 5K.


Midlothian High School has not produced only distance runners, but a great thower as well in Matthew Feiling (pictured above), who now competes for Clemson University and threw in the shot put competition at ACC's.

 

Alex Bowman (pictured above left, UVA) getting ready to compete in his first ACC championships as last year's AAA state champion for 1600 meters indoors and 800 meters ran a time of 1:56.86 in his preliminary heat. Cox grad Kyle Guglielmo is pictured next to Bowman as he competed in the mile and 800 for Virginia Tech.