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GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Virginia Tech track and field squads qualified six more athletes in three more events to the national finals on Saturday closing the NCAA Track and Field East Preliminary Round strongly in Greensboro, N.C.
Senior hurdler Queen Harrison went two-for-two on the weekend after qualifying for the national finals in the 100-meter hurdles on Saturday. Harrison clocked a 12.69, the fastest time in the quarterfinals of the race, to punch her ticket to Eugene, Ore. Harrison also qualified for the national finals in the 400-meter hurdles, running 55.07 in the quarterfinals of the race on Friday.
Senior Kristi Castlin, ranked third in the 100-meter hurdles coming into the weekend, also took care of business in the event, finishing third overall to join Harrison in the 100-meter hurdle finals out west. Castlin earned a time of 12.83 in the quarterfinals.
Earlier in the day, Castlin helped the Tech women’s 4x100-meter relay squad to a 10th-place finish, advancing the Hokies to the national finals in the event. The quartet of Castlin, freshman Funmi Alabi, sophomore Aunye Boone and sophomore Ogechi Nwaneri came in fifth in the stacked third heat of the event, but notched a time of 44.86, which proved good enough to qualify Tech to the finals.
Sophomore Will Mulherin will represent the Hokie distance crew in Eugene, after tallying a third-place finish in the semifinals of the men’s 5,000-meter run in Greensboro. The Yorktown, Va., native ran a time of 14:03.33 and will compete in his first NCAA Championships finals in two weeks.
Other Hokies in competition on Saturday included freshmen Jared Berman and Sammy Dow in the men’s and women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase, respectively. Berman placed 34th with a time of 9:11.22, and Dow took 42nd with a time of 11:14.66 to cap their 2010 seasons. Freshman David Wilson and sophomore Hasheem Halim rounded out the terrific meet for the Hokie field athletes. Wilson leaped a mark of 50-06.75, while Halim jumped 49-00.75 for 16th and 34th place, respectively. Neither advanced to the finals in the event.
The 4x400-meter relay unit, consisting of senior Asia Washington, freshman Yvonne Amegashie, Alabi and Boone crossed the line in 3:44.41 for 22nd place, but did not advance to the finals, while senior Igor Misljenovic, who qualified for the finals in the men’s shot put last night, could not duplicate the effort in the men’s discus, narrowly missing qualifying by one spot. The Zagreb, Croatia native finished 13th, one spot away from earning a bid, with a throw of 174-02.
In all, 13 Hokies will compete at the NCAA national finals. Six women: Harrison (100m hurdles, 400m hurdles), Castlin (100m hurdles, 4x100m relay), Alabi (4x100m relay), Boone (4x100m relay), Nwaneri (4x100m relay) and Habazin (hammer) will make the trip, while seven men: freshman Alexander Ziegler (hammer), sophomore Marcel Lomnicky (hammer), senior Matej Muza (hammer), senior Yavgeniy Olhovsky (pole vault), junior Jared Jodon (pole vault), Misljenovic (shot put) and Mulherin (5,000m run) are set for action at the meet.
The NCAA Championships meet is scheduled for June 9-12 in Eugene, Ore. Results will be available on hokiesports.com.
For updates on Virginia Tech track & field, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_Track).
