Hokie athletes compete at ACC Championships with heavy hearts
Torrey Smith
April 20, 2007
A moment of silence honoring the victims of April 16 opened the Atlantic Coast Conference Outdoor Championships at the University of Maryland yesterday, where six Virginia Tech athletes competed on the first day of the meet.
At the end of the day, the women's team was in first place, while the men's team claimed the fourth slot. The women are coming off winning the ACC indoor track & field championship last February.
"The support from other coaches and teams here has been tremendous," said Tech track & field coach Dave Cianelli. "They've been great and they're really glad we're competing."
With every student-athlete from all 12 ACC schools donning a black wristband during their events, senior Tamara Burns was able to capture the first individual championship for the Hokies. Burns won the women's hammer throw with a distance of 60.48 meters on her sixth and final throw of the event.
Sophomore Brittany Pryor also competed for the Hokies in the hammer throw and finished in fourth place with a throw of 55.85 meters.
The men's side of the hammer throw also saw a strong performance from Virginia Tech when sophomore Matej Muza finished in second with a throw of 67.81 meters.
Two Tech athletes competed in the men's javelin and finished in third and sixth respectively. Junior Kevin Moore recorded a distance of 65.12 meters while freshman Asael Arad produced a throw of 57.74 meters.
Gunild Kreb also completed four of her seven events of the two-day heptathlon event for the Hokies. The senior from Germany recorded seventh place finishes in the 100-meter hurdles, 200-meter dash and the high jump, but also captured a first place finish in the shot put, which vaulted her into third place overall after the first day of competition. Ashleigh Keats, a junior, finished sixth in the Women's Javelin Throw, while runners Natalie Sherbak, Nicole Pederson, and Jennifer Dietz finished fifth, 18th, and 19th respectively in the Women's 10,000 meter run.
Zach Thomas finished 12th and Andrew Montgomery crossed the line in 14th place in the Men's 10,000 meter race.
In addition to black wristbands and a moment of silence, the ACC designed a signage displayed at several locations throughout the meet. The design showed Virginia Tech's school logo over a black ribbon, surrounded by logos from the other 11 ACC schools.
"We're glad to be up here competing as a group," said Cianelli. "We're trying to get back into our normal routine with competition. It's nice to be at a different venue and think about some other things."
Underneath the ribbon and the "VT" was the phrase, "Today, we are all Hokies."
On Friday, a Virginia Tech flag will be flown at the Atlantic Coast Conference Office in Greensboro, N.C. to honor "Orange and Maroon Effect" day.