Tweet

GREENSBORO, N.C. – During the early afternoon at Irwin Belk Track, it was Jeff Artis-Gray securing his spot to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the long jump, but with the sun going down in the evening, Chris Uhle punched Virginia Tech’s second ticket to nationals on day one of the NCAA East Preliminary Round.

Artis-Gray made quick work in the long jump, earning his spot to Eugene, Ore., with his first jump of the day, but the senior went one further and solidified his spot. On his second attempt, he sailed to a mark of 25-8¼ (7.83m). With a birth to nationals all but locked up, he took the rest of the afternoon off, passing on his final four attempts, yet still coming away with the top jump of the day.

“It feels pretty good to win the regional,” Artis-Gray said. “This time I definitely was definitely just thinking about going to the next round and finishing in the top 12. Winning it wasn’t even an expectation. I just wanted to use as little energy as possible cause I have a full weekend so I was happy to go out there and take two jumps and come away with the win.”

Not to be outdone, Chris Uhle captured his first trip to the championships with a perfect day in the pole vault as he set a new personal best at 17-2¾ (5.25m) on his fifth attempt of the day. After passing on the opening height, the sophomore breezed through his next five heights. After easily sailing over the last bar, Uhle appeared to have plenty enough to clear higher marks, but it wasn’t needed. He finished the event as only one of four vaulters to end the day without miss.

“I’m just trying to comprehend that it actually happened—there are no words for it,” said Uhle on qualifying for nationals. "My big thing is trusting in everything that Coach Phillips tells me and it paid off. He’s been coaching for longer than I’ve been alive so I trust him and trust his training and his advice.”

Throughout the day-one prelims, five Hokies extended their stays by advancing and giving themselves a shot to earn their spots to the championships.

Tech grabbed two spots into Saturday’s 1500 meters with a pair of third-place finishes today as Ryan Hagen earned the final automatic spot in his heat at 3:48.18, while Grant Pollock did the same in the next heat after posting a new personal best at 3:43.46.

With the sixth-best seeded time heading into the meet in the 100 meters, Darrell Wesh moved on to tomorrow as he narrowly came in second in his heat at 10.23, the eighth-best time of the day.

The 800 meters saw Tech secure two more spots in tomorrow’s races as Amanda Smith and Tihut Degfae used opposite strategies to prolong their meet. For Smith, the sophomore was in one of the fastest heats in the women’s field, but she managed to hang on. After a nerve-wracking wait for the qualifiers, Smith advanced with one of the final spots after finishing sixth at 2:06.47 in her heat. Degfae on the other hand used a big kick on the final straightaway to not just grab one of the top three automatic spots in his race, but he pulled off the win. Sitting near the back of the pack as they rounded the final turn, the senior found space through the middle of the group and powered his way through to the front to clock in at 1:49.89.

With finals and prelims tomorrow, it will be busy day for the Hokies. Annjulie Vester will get things started for Tech at 10 a.m., in the hammer throw.

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