Mondschein places fifth in the pole vault at the NCAA championships
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Brian Mondschein, a pole vaulter on the Virginia Tech men\'s track & field team, earned his first All-American honor of his Hokie career today at the 2005 NCAA indoor championships held at Arkansas.Mondschein (Jr., Hummelstown, Pa.) tied his personal best jump of 17\'8.50\" (5.40m) for a fifth place in the men\'s pole vault event and earned his first All-American honor for his performance.
\"We are ecstatic for Brian\'s finish and All-American honor today,\" said head coach Dave Cianelli. He was seeded ninth coming into the competition but he performed well beyond that to finish fifth in his first national championships.\"
As a Hokie Mondschein has won three conference championships, 2003 and 2004 BIG EAST outdoor and 2005 ACC indoor.
Tommy Skipper (Oregon) won the NCAA title with his mark of 18\'4.50\" (5.60m).
Cianelli added, \"We are ready to conclude the championships on a high note tomorrow.\"
Tomorrow three more Tech tracksters compete at the championships. Saskia Triesscheijn (Jr., Berlin, Germany) will compete in the women\'s indoor pentathlon, which starts at 11:30 a.m. The five events of the pentathlon are the 60-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, long jump and the 800 meters. Tamara Burns (Jr., Elm Creek, Neb.) will throw the 20 lb. weight at 2 p.m. and Ryan Norwood (Sr., Cheyenne, Wyo.) is slated to compete in the men\'s shot put at 4:30 p.m.
Complete livestat coverage is located at http://www.ncaasports.com/track-and-field/results/indoor/2005. For those of you who want to watch the Hokies in action, ESPN2 will be airing the 2005 NCAA indoor championships on Wednesday, March 16th from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. (ET).