Hokie men place sixth; Tech women finish tied for 28th place
RANDALL\'S ISLAND, N.Y. - Spyridon Jullien and Brian Mondschein, athletes on Virginia Tech\'s track and field team, won NCAA east region individual titles on the last day of the championships hosted by Manhattan College.Spyridon Jullien (Jr., Athens, Greece) won Virginia Tech and his own first NCAA east region individual title today with a throw of 219\'11\" (67.04m) in the hammer event. With his win, Jullien automatically qualified to compete in his third NCAA outdoor national meet and earned 10 points for Tech\'s men\'s team. The ACC hammer throw champion has earned All-America honors in both of his appearances (2003 & 2004) at the NCAA outdoor championships in the event. Nick Owens (North Carolina) placed second throwing the hammer 216\'10\" (66.09m).
Brian Mondschein (Jr., Hummelstown, Pa.) jumped 17\'1\" (5.21m) in the pole vault event to win his first NCAA east region individual title today. Mondschein\'s first-place finish automatically qualified him to compete in his second NCAA outdoor championships. Mondschein picked up 10 team points for the Hokie men with his win. The ACC pole vault indoor and outdoor champion reached All-America status in the event at this year\'s NCAA indoor national championships.
Adam Bingaman (So., New Berlinville, Pa.) also competed in the pole vault event and tied for eighth place out of the 15 competitor-field by clearing 16\'1.25\" (4.91m). Bingaman scored 0.2 points by tying for eighth place.
Idikoro Eradiri (So., Ashburn, Va.) placed 10th out of the 30 jumper-field in the triple jump event with a new personal best mark of 50\'0.75\" (15.26m). Eradiri\'s mark ranks third in Tech\'s all-time performance list. Jason Fludd (Sr., Stafford, Va.) had a mark of 48\'8\" (14.83m) to grab 19th place in the event. Fludd finished one spot higher than he did at the 2004 regional championships. Rafeeq Curry (Florida State) won the triple jump with his mark of 54\'11.50\" (16.75m).
The Hokie men accomplished their team goal and finished in a school best sixth place with 31.25 points out of 49 competing teams after 19 events scored at the regional championships. The top-ten men\'s scoring teams were (1) Florida State with 97 points, (2) Florida with 94 points, (3) Georgia with 68.50 points, (4) South Carolina with 55.25 points, (5) Clemson with 35 points, (6) Virginia Tech with 31.25 points, (7) North Carolina with 22 points, (8) Pittsburgh with 20.25 points, (9) Georgetown with 20 points and (10) Florida A&M with 19.50 points.
In today\'s action on the women\'s side, Saskia Triesscheijn (Jr., Berlin, Germany) had a mark of 128\'4\" (39.12m) to place 24th out of the 30 thrower-field in the javelin throw while Ashleigh Keats (Fr., Salina, Kan.) finished in 26th place with 123\'11\" (37.76m). Inge Jorgensen (Virginia) won the event with her throw of 167\'11\" (51.19m).
Tech\'s women\'s squad tied for 28th place with 5 points out of 43 competing teams after 19 events scored. The top-ten women\'s scoring teams were (1) South Carolina with 102.25 points, (2) Miami with 81 points, (3) North Carolina with 50 points, (4) Florida with 47 points, (5) Penn State with 41 points, (6) Georgia Tech with 40 points, (6) Georgia with 37.50 points, (8) NC State with 25 points, (9) Virginia with 24 points and (10) Rutgers with 22 points.
Up next for automatic qualifiers Spyridon Jullien, Brian Mondschein, Kristen Callan, Sven Hahn, Jacobus Smit and at-large qualifier Ryan Norwood is the NCAA Outdoor Championships on June 8-11 in Sacramento, Calif.