Tweet

ORLANDO, Fla. – Senior All-American Keith Ricks set three school records - in the 100 meters, 200 meters and as a member of the 4x100 meter relay - as the Virginia Tech men’s and women’s track & field teams competed on the second and final day of the University of Central Florida Invitational at the UCF Track & Field Complex Saturday.

Ricks cemented his place in Tech’s record books as he ran school records of 10.22 in the 100 meters and 20.75 in the 200 meters, bettering the standards of 10.24 and 20.78 held by Andre Davis since 1999. He finished runner-up to professional Travis Padgett in the 100 meters and fifth in the 200. At the time of publication, Ricks’ 100 and 200 meter times both rank in the top-five in the country.

Ricks also anchored the second place and school record setting 4x100 meter relay as he teamed with senior All-American triple jumper Hasheem Halim, sophomore Darrell Wesh and junior Jonathan McCants to finish in 40.11, over fourth tenths of a second faster than the previous record of 40.56 set in 2010.

Wesh set a personal best in the 100 meters with a time of 10.35, good for fifth place and No. 3 all-time at Tech. McCants also notched a PR in the 200 meters, running 21.56 and finishing ninth.

Freshman Ciara Simms ran a wind-aided season best time of 11.56 in the 100 meters to place fifth and notched a season best in the 200 meters (23.85) to finish in eighth place. Senior Yvonne Amegashie had a personal best in the 400 meters for the second straight week (54.52) and senior Eric Hoepker was seventh in men’s 400 meters (49.19).

The women’s 4x100 meter quartet of Simms, junior Jameice DeCoster, senior Aunye Boone and senior Ogechi Nwaneri were sixth in 45.71.

Freshman Leah Nugent was eighth in the 100 meter hurdles (13.92), which ranks tied for sixth at Tech and seventh in the 400 meter hurdles (1:01.45).

In the shot put competitions, freshman Valentina Muzaric made her Tech debut and finished third with a throw of 53-8.25 (16.36m), which puts her fourth on Tech’s all-time performance list. Fellow freshman Luka Mustafic was runner-up in the men’s shot with a throw of 54-7.25 (16.64m).

The Hokies will split the squad between three meets next weekend: Georgia Tech’s Yellow Jacket Invitational, NC State’s Raleigh Relays and the 85th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays.

Note: Wind readings of less than +3.0 m/s are accepted as Virginia Tech school records. The wind reading in Ricks’ school records in the 100 and 200 meters today was +2.3, which is above the accepted +2.0 to qualify for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials. The Trials "B" (provisional) standards are 10.28 in the 100 meters and 20.75 in the 200 meters.

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