Sven Hahn wins the men\'s shot put
BLACKSBURG, Va. - Virginia Tech had one winner, one NCAA qualifier and several top 10 performances on the last day of the Virginia Tech Invitational, which took place on a 200 meter banked track inside the Rector Field House on the Tech campus.Sven Hahn (Jr.-tr, Stuttgart, Germany) won the men\'s shot put competition with his second NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the shot put this season (58\'4.50\"; 17.79m). Steve Huntzinger (So.-tr, Fairfax, Va.) finished right behind Hahn in second place (54\'; 16.47m) and William Collins (Jr., Chesterfield, Va.) took fourth (50\'7.25\"; 15.42m).
In the men\'s pole vault event, Tech had two athletes tie for fifth place and two tie for seventh. Daniel Gore (Jr., Leonardtown, Md.) and two-time BIG EAST pole vault champion, Brian Mondschein, recorded jumps of 16\'0.75\" (4.90m) for fifth place. The Hokie seventh place pole vaulters were Adam Bingaman (So., New Berlinville, Pa.) and Joe Samaniuk (So., Rexford, N.Y.). They both had a mark of 15\'7\" (4.75m). Samaniuk\'s mark was a personal record while Bingaman jumped a personal season best.
Jessica Fanning (Fr., Charlottesville, Va.) posted a 10:00.82 in the women\'s 3,000 meters for 11th place. Natalie Sherbak (Fr., Virginia Beach, Va.) took 19th place with 10:28.92.
Kyle Guglielmo (Fr., Virginia Beach, Va.) ran the mile in 4:28.05 for 12th place in the 29 runner-field.
Hokie newcomer Britni Spruill (Fr., Hampton, Va.) competed in the women\'s long jump and finished in 11th place with a personal season best jump of 18\'1\" (5.51m).
The Tech sprinters faced tough competition from the nationally-ranked (No. 1) women\'s squad, Tennessee and SEC powerhouse South Carolina. On the women\'s side, Spruill had a 60 meter time of 7.91 for 19th place in the preliminaries. Victoria Green (Jr., Chesapeake, Va.) finished 33rd in the 200 meters with 25.95. Marie Giles (Sr., Hampton, Va.) recorded a 400 meter time of 57.48 for 16th place in the race.
The winners of the women\'s sprints include Alexis Joyce (South Carolina) won the women\'s 60 meter dash in an NCAA qualifying time of 7.43. Dee Dee Trotter, representing Addis TC, won the 200 meters in 23.55. Stephanie Smith (South Carolina) recorded a 400 meter time of 53.69 for first place.
As for the men, Matt Renninger was 22nd in the 60 meter prelims. Jordan Price (Fr., Newport News, Va.) ran the 200 meters in a personal season best time of 22.91 for a 23rd place showing. In the 400 meters, Anthony Jenkins (Sr., Baltimore, Md.) took 18th place while teammate Matt Renninger was 19th.
Rodney Martin (South Carolina) won the men\'s 60 meter dash in an NCAA qualifying time of 6.76. Lashawn Merritt (East Carolina) won the 200 meters (20.92). Ashton Collins, who was unattached, claimed first place in the 400 meters with a time of 47.62.
In the 4x400-meter relay, Tech\'s women\'s teams finished 11th and 19th. South Carolina edged out Tennessee on the final corner to claim the win in an NCAA qualifying time of 3:37.20 in the women\'s relay.
The Hokie men placed 10th out of 16 teams in the men\'s 4x400-meter relay. Division II St. Augustine\'s won the relay in 3:10.84
Virginia Tech will train and practice hard this week for the Clemson Invitational on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 21-22.