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BLACKSBURG, Va. - Another school record fell on day two of the VT Elite Meet, as Kelly Phillips vaulted to a new school record and qualified for the NCAA Championships. This was the second school record set this weekend, as Will Mulherin set a new men’s 3,000 meters record on Friday (8:04.40).

Phillips got things started well for the Hokies, winning the pole vault and setting a new school record at 14-1.25 (4.30m), which qualifies her for the NCAA Championships. After setting a then-personal best at 13-11.75 (4.26m) and winning the event in her final attempt, Phillips chose to raise the bar to the NCAA automatic qualifying height and hit the mark on her second attempt. She is the first Hokie to qualify so far this season and only the second women’s pole vaulter in the ACC to hit the automatic qualifying standard this season. The new personal best ties her for first in the ACC and puts her in the top 10 nationally.

Natalie Woodford ran a personal-best 56.37 in the 400-meter dash to place second overall, after making a strong push on the last quarter of the race to take second in her heat. Yvonne Amegashie won the first heat of the 400-meter dash and finished just behind Woodford at fourth overall (56.48). Jonathan McCants improved his season-best mark in the 400-meter dash, placing ninth at 49.30. In the 200-meter dash, Auyne Boone also improved on her season-best mark, crossing the line at 24.18 to take third overall. Keith Ricks also improved his season-best time in the 200 meters, finishing fourth at 21.58.

The day on the track finished with the 1,600-meter relays, where the women’s squad of Asia Washington, Zakiya Tyson, Boone and Yvonne Amegashie took fourth in the invitational section at 3:43.31. The men’s team of Ebenezer Amegashie, Jeff Artis-Gray, McCants and Ricks won their heat to place second overall at 3:14.19, which now leads the team.

In other field events, Samira Burkhardt set a new personal best in the shot put, improving to 53-5.75 (16.30m) and placing third. This mark further secures her spot at the top of the ACC and in the top-20 nationally. Burkhardt continues to close in on the second-place all-time mark at Virginia Tech, set by Ciera Ayangbile in 2007 at 53-8.25 (16.36m). Yavgeniy Olhovsky earned a win in the men’s pole vault, hitting a new season-high mark of 17-5.5 (5.32m). Hasheem Halim improved his season-best mark in the triple jump, placing fourth at 50-11.5 (15.53m).

The Hokies will have a weekend off from competition before hosting the Virginia Tech Challenge on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 18 and 19. Fans can now follow Virginia Tech Track and Field on our official Twitter page, www.twitter.com/VT_Track (@VT_Track). If you’re not signed up on Twitter, you can still read Twitter updates from all Tech sports at our official social page, www.hokiesports.com/social.

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