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NEW ORLEANS, La. – Eight Virginia Tech track & field student-athletes have been named All-Americans for the 2012 indoor track & field season, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) officially announced Monday. The Hokies had five named to the first team and three to the second team.

First team honors were given to those who placed in the championships’ top eight or were a member of an eight-person final. Second team honors were handed out to those who earned final classifications between ninth and 16th place.

Tech’s five first team members include: senior Hasheem Halim (triple jump, third), senior Marcel Lomnicky (weight throw, national champion), freshman Martina Schultze (pole vault, seventh), freshman Victoria von Eynatten (pole vault, tie-eighth) and junior Alexander Ziegler (weight throw, third).

Lomnicky caps his career as a two-time national champion and six-time All-American. Halim earned his third All-America certificate and Ziegler earned his fifth.

In addition, junior Ronnie Black (high jump, 13th), senior Keith Ricks (60 meters, 12th) and sophomore Frances Dowd (800 meters, 15th) were named second team All-Americans. Black is a now a two-time All-American, while Ricks and Dowd earned All-America honors for the first time.

As a team, the Hokie men finished in a tie for eighth with 22 points, the best ever finish for the program at the indoor national meet.

272 men and 262 women earned either first-team or second-team USTFCCCA All-America distinctions for the 2012 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field season. A total of 649 awards will be given as a result of performances at the past weekend’s NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in Nampa, Idaho.

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