Six Hokies Qualify for NCAA Championships


Three men, three women will compete for NCAA titles

March 7, 2006

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Six Virginia Tech track and field student-athletes will compete in Fayetteville, Ark., this weekend for a chance to win a national championship.

Leading the way for the Hokies is senior Spyridon Jullien. He is the defending national champion in the weight throw and has the top mark in the country this season. He had an effort of 23.63m (77\'6.50\"), which is the fifth-best mark all-time in NCAA competition.

Freshman Mohsen Anani is also slated to compete in the weight throw. Anani won the Atlantic Coast Conference title with a throw of 22.95m (75\'3.50\"). The throw was not only a personal best for Anani, but it was also the seventh-best mark in NCAA competition. Anani\'s throw is the second best in the country this season.

Senior Brian Mondschein heads into the pole vault event with the third-best vault in the country this season. He established a new school record after clearing 5.52m (18\'1.25\") at the Penn State Invitational. It also marked the first time Mondschein had ever cleared 18\'.

On the women\'s side, senior Tamara Burns has the fourth-best weight throw in the NCAA this year. Her throw of 22.33 (73\'3.25\") at the Clemson Opener is a school record and a personal best. Burns was the ACC champion in the event. Last season, she finished 12th at the NCAA Championships, and earned All-America honors.

Seniors Gunild Kreb and Saskia Triesscheijn earned spots at the NCAA Championships after recording two of the top ten marks in the country this season in the pentathlon.

Kreb\'s personal best of 4,009 points was good enough for an ACC Championship. It was also the second-best point total in school history. The 4,009 points is the eighth most this season in the NCAA.

Triesscheijn\'s season-best 4,003 points was good enough to win the Penn State Invitational. The point total is the ninth best this season in the NCAA. Triesscheijn holds the school record in the event with 4,058 points, set during the 2005 season at the Virginia Tech Last Chance Invitational. Last season, she finished sixth in the NCAA, earning All-America honors.

Burns will be competing at noon on Friday, March 10. Mondschein will then compete at 5:35 p.m. Kreb and Triesscheijn will begin at 11:30 a.m., on Saturday, March 11. Jullien and Anani are the last two Hokies to compete. Their event is slated to begin at 2 p.m., Saturday. All times are Central Standard Time.