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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - On the final day of competition for the Virginia Tech track & field before regional declarations are due, Leoule Degfae and Ryan Hagen moved themselves into contention for postseason spots as they recorded personal bests today at the Virginia Challenge at Lannigan Field.
Hagen finished 11th overall in the 1500 meters, seventh among collegians in the field, but his time of 3:45.12 lands him inside the top 30 in the region. On Monday, the senior was 46th in the region, and then was knocked out of the top 48 prior to his race this evening. Hagen though made a significant jump in the rankings by shaving just over a second off his previous best time.
For Degfae, the junior will have to sit and wait through the weekend, and potentially longer, as his time of 29:45.70 in the 10,000 meters is currently in qualifying position, but is outside of the top 40. He finished fourth overall in the race.
Earlier in the day, Grant Pollock and Tihut Degfae finished third and fourth in the 800 meters. Pollock set a new personal record as he finished in 1:51.02. Sarah Rapp also set a new personal best in 5,000 meters, narrowly topping her previous mark with tonight's time of 16:37.10 to finish eighth.
To close out the night, the Hokies finished in second and fourth in the women's 10,000 meters as Alex Watt recorded a personal best time of 36:16.85. Courtney Dobbs wasn't too far behind her teammate, crossing the line at 36:48.74.
Tech will now wait until Thursday for the announcement of its qualifiers for the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds. The prelims will be held at Irwin Belk Track on the campus of North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, N.C., on May 23-25.
For updates on Virginia Tech track & field, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_Track).