Collegiate Times

For the first time in program history, the Virginia Tech men’s track and field team won the Atlantic Coast Conference Indoor Championship. The team competition began on Thursday and concluded with the win on Saturday. 

The team finished the meet with 140 total points. Florida State finished second with 98 points. Last year, the Hokies lost the title to Florida State following a questionable disqualification. However, Tech came back with new motivation to win this year’s title. 

In total, three individual titles were won by the men’s team. The pole-vaulters and throwers combined to earn a total of 49 points. 

The field squads, in particular the pole-vaulters and throwers, carried the team. 

The men’s pole-vaulters continued their dominant season in dramatic fashion. Sophomore Stephan Munz won the men’s pole vault with a height of 17-9 (5.41 meters). The vaulters took four of the five top spots, while earning 25 points toward the overall team total. This is the fifth time the men’s pole-vaulting team has won the event in the last seven years.

The Tech throwers swept the top three finishes in the weight throw. Alexander Ziegler earned his second consecutive title with a distance of 21.4 meters. 

Teammate Marcel Lomnicky finished second and Denis Mahmic finished third. Ziegler, Lomnicky and Mahmic were responsible for 24 of the team points.

In the distance events, the Hokies performed exceptionally well. Michael Hammond earned his second consecutive one-mile title with a time of 4:07.47. Hammond’s teammate Chris Walizer earned a fourth place finish with a time of 4:08.67. Will Mulherin finished second in the men’s 3,000 meters with a time of 8:04.59.

In the men’s triple jump, Hasheem Halim and football player David Wilson took second and third place, respectively. 

A version of this article appeared in the Mar 1 issue of the Collegiate Times.