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BLACKSBURG, Va. – The ACC has honored two Virginia Tech athletes for their performances this past weekend, as Michael Hammond and Samira Burkhardt earned weekly conference honors, announced Tuesday. Hammond was named the Men’s Track and Field Performer of the Week after setting a new school record in the mile run, and Burkhardt is the Women’s Track and Field Co-Performer of the Week after improving her personal best in the shot put as the top freshman in the country.

Hammond’s school record in the mile run was the first of two records to fall on day one of the Virginia Tech Challenge. Hammond ran a close, back-and-forth race with Duke’s Ryan McDermott, and with under 200 meters to go in the race Hammond mustered all his strength and pulled past McDermott on the final turn to break away on the home stretch, eventually finishing in 4:01.53. This beats the previous record of 4:02.27, set by Billy Berlin in 2009. Hammond now leads the ACC in the men’s mile and ranks 24th nationally.

Burkhardt’s victory in Saturday’s shot put further improved the freshman’s personal best to 54-9.25 (16.69), moving her to second all-time at Virginia Tech, just a quarter-inch shy of Brittany Pryor’s school record of 54-9.5 (16.70m), set in 2008. Burkhardt has sat at the top of the ACC performance list all season, and this mark put even more distance between her and second place. She also ranks 11th nationally and is the highest ranked freshman in the country in the women’s shot put, the only true freshman in the top 15.

Hammond and Burkhardt are the second and third honorees this season for the Hokies, following Kelly Phillips, who was honored following the VT Elite Meet for her NCAA qualifying performance in the women’s pole vault. Burkhardt is sharing this week’s honor with Duke senior pole vaulter Amy Fryt.

Virginia Tech hosts the ACC Indoor Track and Field Championships this week, with three days of events kicking off Thursday at noon with the combined events. If you can’t make it out to the event, the ACC will be providing a live video stream of Friday and Saturday’s action on the championship website, http://www.theacc.com/championships/11-itf-championship.html. Additionally, fans can get updated live results on www.flashresults.com as well as additional updates and information on our official Twitter page, www.twitter.com/VT_Track.

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