Hokies place nine athletes and one relay team in the top 10
BLACKSBURG, Va. - The first day of the Virginia Tech Invitational concluded with two Tech athletes breaking their own school records and several Hokies finishing in the top 10 in their respective events. The invite is held on a 200 meter banked track inside the Rector Field House on the Tech campus.Three-time All-American and NCAA championships runner-up, Spyridon Jullien (Jr., Athens, Greece), won the men\'s weight throw competition with a new school and Rector Fieldhouse indoor record mark of 76\' (23.16m). Jullien broke his own school record of 71\'11\" (21.92m) set at the Clemson Opener in December and shattered the previous Rector Fieldhouse record of 69\'9.75\" (21.28m), which was set by Sal Gigante of North Carolina in 2002. With his NCAA automatic qualifying mark, Jullien remains the top men\'s weight throw athlete in the NCAA division I.
Erin Mahony (So., Virginia Beach, Va.) broke her own school record and set a new personal best in the women\'s pole vault with her second place jump of 11\'11.75\" (3.65m) today.
Other notable Hokie performances include Jason Fludd\'s second place finish in the men\'s triple jump with a mark of 49\'6.25\" (15.09m).
In the men\'s distance medley relay, the Hokies finished in 10:19.20 for third place.
Tech went 3-4 in the men\'s 5,000 meters. Zach Thomas (Fr., Sewickley, Pa.) had the third place time of 15:22.11 and David Atkiss (Sr., Hatfield, Pa.) was fourth with 15:23.87.
NCAA qualifier Kristen Callan took third in the women\'s weight throw (58\'1.25\";17.71m). Victoria Green (Jr, Chesapeake, Va.) claimed fourth place in the 500 meters with a time of 1:16.07.
Hokie distance runner, Jenn Dietz (So., Springfield, Va.) ran the 5,000 meters in 18:54.38 for sixth place.
Abbey McGrath (So., Burke, Va.) and Kim Johnston (Jr., Old Bridge, N.J.) placed in the top 10 in the women\'s pole vault. McGrath finished seventh and Johnston took 10th.
In the 60-meter hurdles semi-finals, Jacqueline Nicholson (Sr., Clayton, N.J.) took 13th place with 9.15.
The invitational continues Saturday starting at 10 a.m. with the women\'s high jump and ends at 4:35 p.m. with the men\'s 4x400-meter relay.