May 5, 2013
Distance runners post personal records at Oxy Invite
Pole vaulters sweep at Bob Pollock Invite
  • West Virginia

CLEMSON, S.C./LOS ANGELES - With four wins to start the day for the Virginia Tech track & field teams at the Bob Pollock Invitational, the Hokie distance squad added three more victories out on the West Coast. To go along with the wins out west, five Hokies set new personal records which included Amanda Smith breaking the school record in the 800 meters.

Pushed by Mizuno's Akari Kishikawa, Smith broke Marlies Overbeeke's nine-year-old record by more than as a second as she clocked a time of 2:05.59. Kishikawa was less than two-tenths of a second back of Smith. With the record time, the sophomore also improved her standing in the region as she now sits 10th.

Smith wasn't the only Hokie in the event though as the 800-meter trio also claimed third and fourth. Frances Dowd moved up second all-time at Tech with her time of 2:06.79, while Katarina Smiljanec's time of 2:07.20 moved her up to fifth.

In the men's 800 meters, Tihut Degfae topped his time from earlier this year move to second at Tech with his third-place finish at 1:49.05. He finished behind Felix Kitur of Santa Monica Track Club and Richard Jones of HSInternational. The senior moved up to 15th in the region.

Grant Pollock grabbed the win in the 1,500 meters by setting a new personal record at 3:43.54, just under his ACC Championship winning time. He now sits at 11th in the region. Shannon Morton took second in the women's race 4:23.20.

Jared Berman won the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase, crossing the line at 8:56.63, just shy of his personal best he set in 2010. Despite missing his PR, the time was still his best of the season and moved him up to 17th in the region.

Early in the day, the Hokies battled strong winds in South Carolina but still managed to sweep the pole vault and grabbing two other wins in the men's 100 meters and women's 800 meters.

Martina Schultze continued her win streak in the women's pole vault as she topped out at 14-2 (4.32m) in today's competition. The sophomore passed through to 4.12 meters, clearing the hiehght on her first attempt. She passed on the next height before recording her winning mark on her second attempt at the height. Fellow sophomore Chris Uhle won the men's pole vault by setting a new personal best, clearing 17 feet for the first time. On his first attempt at 17-0.75 (5.20m), Uhle was able to sail over the bar for his final clearance of the afternoon.

Tadashi Pinder picked up his first win of the season in the 100 meters, crossing the line in 10.52. In the women's 800 meters, Shalonda Mitchell also earned her first win of the season finishing in 2:18.47.

Leah Nugent took second place and was the top collegian in the 100-meter hurdles. The sophomore recorded her first time of the season at a wind-aided 13.67.

Earning third-place finishes were Benny Unger in the 400-meter hurdles (56.27) and Ronnie Black in the high jump at 6-11 (2.11m).

Tech will head up to Roanoke on Thursday for the Roanoke/VT Twilight Qualifier before competing at the Virginia Challenge on Friday and Saturday.

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

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