April 25, 2010
Judge, Phillips win events at Vertklasse Meet
Hokies cap successful weekend with strong efforts on Sunday
  • Virginia

HIGH POINT, N.C. The Virginia Tech track and field squads captured two event titles on Sunday at the Vertklasse Meet in High Point, N.C., to cap a strong weekend for the Hokies.

Sophomore Eddie Judge began the string of victories, winning the men’s 1,500-meter run with a season-best time of 3:49.14. In the women’s 1,500-meters, sophomores Sammy Dow and Lauren Lemieux crossed the line in second and third, respectively. Dow clocked a 4:34.87, while Lemieux posted a time of 4:37.59.

The women’s pole vaulters claimed the top three spots in the event on Sunday for Tech. Junior Kelly Phillips won the pole vault with a clearance 12-05.50, while freshman Emma DeJarnette and senior Elise Birnbaum both cleared a height of 11-09.75. DeJarnette finished second with less misses than Birnbaum to earn the tie-breaker.

Freshman Ryan Hagen took second in the men’s 800-meter run in his first outdoor 800-meters as a collegian. Hagen finished with a time of 1:51.88, less than five-tenths of a second behind winner Josh Morgan of High Point. Sophomore Lauren Pinkston came in third in the women’s 800-meters, crossing the line in 2:13.96. Closing out the distance action at the meet, senior Matt Kroetch ran a 14:46.97 to place third in the men’s 5,000-meters.

In sprints action, junior Ebenezer Amegashie finished second in the men’s 110-meter hurdles. The Dumfries, Va., native ran a 14.30 en route to the runner-up showing. Amegashie returned to the track later to secure another runner-up finish in the 400-meter hurdles, running 53.83.

The 4x400-meter relay squads, composed of distance runners, competed strongly on the day. The men’s quartet of sophomore Eric Hoepker, Hagen, freshman Tihut Degfae and senior Jeff Miller compiled a time of 3:20.70, while freshman Garrett Bradley, sophomore Kieran Lee, freshman Jared Berman and Judge earned third in the race with a time of 3:27.99. On the women’s side, freshman Natalie Woodford, freshman Frances Dowd, Pinkston and freshman Erika Weidman totaled a time of 4:00.49 to finish second.

Several sprinters competed in the Penn Relays on Friday and Saturday, including senior Queen Harrison who set a Penn Relays and Tech record in the women’s 100-meter hurdles, taking first in the event with a time of 12.61.

Tech returns to the track on April 29 for the Liberty Twilight in Lynchburg, Va. Results will be available on hokiesports.com.

For updates on Virginia Tech track & field, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_Track).

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