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BLACKSBURG, Va. - Day one of the VT Elite Meet is in the books, and the day was highlighted by Will Mulherin setting a new school record in the 3,000 meters. Plenty of other Hokies earned new personal bests as well that put them at the top of the ACC performance list and the national standings.

Jessica Trapeni kicked things off well for the Hokies, earning a win in the second heat of the women’s mile run with an indoor best of 4:55.78, good for a third-place finish. Kieran Lee also set a new personal best on the men’s side, taking ninth at 4:13.29. Keare Smith and Jeff Artis-Gray both qualified for the 60-meter hurdles finals, finishing third in their respective heats with Smith taking fifth overall (8.00) and Artis-Gray eighth (8.06). In the finals, Smith placed sixth (7.98) and Artis-Gray eighth (8.06). Artis-Gray’s 8.06 finish is a personal best and pushes him up to fourth all-time at Virginia Tech. Funmi Alabi and Ogechi Nwaneri finished nearly identically in their 60-meter dash prelminary heats, each placing second at 7.58 and 7.59, respectively, but narrowly missing the cutoff for the finals. Keith Ricks and Derrell Wesh both advanced to the 60-meter dash finals after earning 6.85 and 6.89 finishes in the preliminaries, respectively. Wesh took sixth in the finals (6.87) while Ricks was penalized for a false start.

Mulherin set a new school record in the 3,000 meters, winning at 8:04.40. The former record-holder, Michael Hammond, finished just behind Mulherin at 8:10.48 to take second. Mulherin’s mark puts him at the top of the ACC by a wide margin and into the national top-20. Frances Dowd, competing unattached, finished in the top-10 in the women’s 800 meters, crossing the line seventh at 2:17.06. Three Hokies finished in a tight pack in the men’s 800 meters, with Tihut Degfae leading the way in fourth (1:52.47), followed by Jeff Miller fifth (1:52.51) and Nick McLaughlin sixth (1:52.96). Sammy Dow set a new personal best in the women’s 3,000 meters, cruising to a sixth-place finish at 9:45.89.

In the final running events of the day, Asia Washington was one of two competitors to earn a sub-55 second time in the 400-meter dash, placing second at 54.44. Zakiya Tyson and Alabi earned top-five spots in the women’s 200-meter dash, with Tyson in third (24.38) and Alabi in fifth (24.44). Both marks are personal bests. Jonathan McCants finished the day for the Hokies on the track, placing seventh at 21.86.

In the field events, Dorotea Habazin, in her first competition of the season, set a new personal-best in the weight throw, taking third at 65-6 (19.94m). This mark puts her at second in the ACC and ninth in the nation. Her previous best was set during the 2009 season in which she was an ACC Champion and finished just shy of All-American status at the national meet. The 2010 and 2009 ACC Champions in the Weight Throw, Alexander Ziegler and Marcel Lomnicky, finished in the top two spots in Friday’s weight throw. Ziegler’s mark of 69-10.25 (21.29m) is just shy of the NCAA automatic qualifying mark of 21.50m, but it still puts him at the top of the ACC and second in the nation. Lomnicky’s finish of 67-9 (20.65m) would put him right behind Ziegler in the ACC and in the top-10 nationally.

Emma DeJarnette was Tech’s highest finisher in Friday’s pole vault, placing fourth at 11-1.75 (3.65m). In the men’s vault, Matt Hoogland, competing unattached, took fourth at 15-3 (4.65m). After running in the 60-meter hurdles, Artis-Gray placed seventh in the men’s long jump at 22-10.5 (6.97m).

The VT Elite Meet continues tomorrow with the women’s high jump beginning at 11 a.m. The first running event of the day, the women’s distance medley relay, is set to begin at 1 p.m.

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