The U.S. Track & Field Championships were held last week in Eugene, Oregon. Several Hokies runners wrapped up successful weekends before the meet was over.
Rising senior Asia Washington ran a 57.85 in the 400-meter hurdle prelims to qualify for the semifinals. In that heat, she ran a 59.35. That time was good enough for 13th best, but not fast enough to send her to the finals, where the top eight runners compete.
Keith Ricks, a rising sophomore runner, finished second in the junior men's 200-meter dash Saturday, June 27. Ricks ran the second-best time in the prelims of the event. He was timed at 21.24 seconds there, and then later that day took runner-up in the finals, with a time of 21.18. Keyth Talley of North Texas, who ran a 20.86, outpaced him for the win. With that finish, Ricks qualified for the Pan-American Junior Championships in Port of Spain, Trinidad, on July 31-Aug. 2.
Rising Senior Kristi Castlin, an All-ACC performer this past spring, ran a 12.99 100-meter hurdle prelim to qualify for the finals, coming in to the semifinals with the 10th-fastest time so far.
In the semifinals, Castlin timed in at 13.10, putting her in 10th place still. Once again, only the top eight runners advance to the finals, so Castlin's weekend was over.
Castlin recently finished third in the 60-meter hurdles at the NCAA Championships for indoor track in March.
With her performance this past weekend, her great 2009 season just keeps going.
Former Tech pole-vaulter Brian Mondschein participated in the meet as an unattached athlete. He cleared 18 feet, 2.5 inches to finish in 12th place.
In addition to the success at the meet, it was a great weekend for Washington and Castlin for academic reasons as well.
The two female runners were among nine Tech track & field athletes named to the ACC All-Academic Team last week. Other Hokies named to the team were Shakirra Pinnock, Natalie Sherbak, Erika Schroeder, Kelly Phillips, and male athletes Matej Muza, Igor Misljenovic, and Hashem Halim.
The US Championships were the final event of the season for the Hokie athletes until next fall, who have been competing in outdoor events since late March.