Six Hokies Qualify for NCAA Regionals at Charlotte Invite

Jacobus Smit and Sven Hahn break school records with regional marks

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Six Virginia Tech track & field athletes recorded NCAA regional marks at the Charlotte Invitational today which was held at the Irwin Belk Track & Field facility.

\"We had a good meet considering the weather conditions,\" said fourth-year head coach Dave Cianelli. \"We had six athletes record NCAA regional marks, several first-place finishers and school records were broken.\"

Jacobus Smit (Jr., Pretoria, South Africa) threw the javelin in an NCAA regional qualifying distance of 242\'9\" (74.00m) to break his own school record and win the event. Brian MacPhee (Sr., Golden Lake, Ont.) took eighth place with his throw of 136\'9\" (41.69m).

In the men\'s discus throw, Sven Hahn (Jr.-Tr., Stutggart, Germany) broke Tech\'s 22 year old school record with an NCAA regional mark of 189\'6\" (57.76m). He finished second out of the 16 thrower-field.

Spyridon Jullien (Jr., Athens, Greece) won the hammer throw event with an NCAA regional mark of 228\'9\" (69.73m). Jullien\'s mark currently leads the NCAA Division I hammer throw performance list.

Ryan Norwood (Sr., Cheyenne, Wyo.) posted an NCAA regional mark in the shot put with 55\'6.25\" (16.92m) for a second place showing in the event. MacPhee came in fifth in the shot put with his throw of 50\'0.50\" (15.25m).

Kristen Callan (So., Monroe, N.Y.) qualified for her second NCAA regional championships throwing the hammer today with her third place mark of 186\'7\" (56.87m).

Tamara Burns (Jr.-Tr., Elm Creek, Neb.) finished in third place in the discus throw with an NCAA regional qualifying mark of 162\'6\" (49.53m). Her throw ranks second in Tech\'s all-time performance list.

Burns also threw the fifth best distance in the outdoor shot put in school history. She had a mark of 45\'5.25\" (13.85m) to take second place in the event.

Other notable Hokie performances include Jordan Price (Fr., Newport New, Va.) placing eighth in the 200 meters with 22.17 and fifth in the 400 in a time of 48.62. Matt Renninger (Jr., Barto, Pa.) took 10th place (22.20) in the 200 meters and 23rd place (51.49) in the 400 meters.

Anthony Jenkins (Sr., Baltimore, Md.) ran the 400-meter hurdles in a time of 57.58 for 15th place in the event.

Kyle Guglielmo (Fr., Virginia Beach, Va.) had an 800 meter time of 1:59.57 for 10th place in the race and clocked 4:05.09 in the 1,500 meters to place seventh. Mark Wieder (Fr., Harrisburg, Pa.) took 24th place in the 800 meters and 20th in the 1,500 meters.

Jason Fludd (Sr., Stafford, Va.) jumped 48\'0.75\" (14.65m) in the triple jump to finish third out of the 12 competitor-field. Joe Samaniuk (So., Rexford, N.Y.) leaped 15\'7\" (4.75m) in the pole vault which placed him second in the event.

On the women\'s side, Britni Spruill (Fr., Hampton, Va.) was the first Hokie to cross the finish line in the 200 meters with a time of 25.27. Jackie Nicholson (Sr., Clayton, N.J.) finished in 10th place (25.56), Marie Giles (Sr., Hampton, Va.) was 16th and Victoria Green (Jr, Chesapeake, Va.) took 18th place in the 200 meters.

Green placed sixth in the 400 meters with 57.09. Nicholson claimed ninth place, Shamane Onwudiachi (Sr., Laurel, Md.) was 13th and Spruill grabbed 19th in the 400 meters.

In the 400-meter hurdles, Onwudiachi came in second with 1:03.52 while Keosha Sanders (Jr., Stafford, Va.) was fourth with 1:04.81.

Giles had the third best time in the 800 meters (2:17.22).

Stephanie Myers (Fr., Manassas, Va.) had a height of 4\'11\" (1.50m) to tie for 10th place in the high jump.

In the pole vault, Erin Mahony (So., Virginia Beach, Va.) tied for fourth place by clearing 10\'11.75\" (3.35m). Teammate Abbey McGrath (So., Burke, Va.) tied for seventh place in the event.

NCAA regional qualifier Ashleigh Keats (Fr., Salina, Kan.) threw the javelin 136\'6\" (41.62m) to claim third place in the event.

Cianelli concluded \"Our sprinters and jumpers continue to improve under coach Lawrence Johnson\'s guidance and it will be in a matter of time they peak.\"

The Hokies next compete in the Clemson Invitational on Saturday, April 9. Tech\'s distance runners will be back in action at Duke\'s Invitational on April 8 and 9.