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BLACKSBURG, Va. - Competing in his first meet of the year, Tomas Kruzliak dominated the competition en route to a first-place finish on day one of the Doc Hale VT Elite Meet held in Rector Field House on Friday evening.

All together, the Hokies earned first-place finishes in the men’s weight throw, the men’s distance medley relay and the women’s distance medley relay.

For the men, Tomas Kruzliak cruised his way to a first-place finish in the men’s weight throw in his first competition of the indoor season with a heave of 67’00.00” (20.42m), nearly three whole feet ahead of the nearest competitor.

In the men’s distance medley relay, Tech earned first, second and third place finishes with all three Hokie teams destroying the rest of the field. The team of Leoule Degfae, Martin Dally, Tihut Degfae and Grant Pollock earned a first-place finish crossing the line with a time of 9:42.26.

The next team to cross the line for the Hokies in the men’s distance medley relay consisted of Patrick Joseph, Travis Correa, Griffin Carmichael and Vincent Ciattei who finished with a time of 9:57.47. The third-place team from Tech consisted of Juan Campos, Prince Owusu, Kevin DeWillie and George Carter who finished with a time of 9:58.34.

In the men’s 60-meter dash, Tadashi Pinder and Dante Price earned fourth and fifth place finishes, respectively. Pinder finished with a time of 6.81, his best this season, while Price ran a time of 6.90.

On the women's side in the women’s distance medley relay, the Hokies dominated as the two teams competing for Tech in the race earned first and second-place finishes. The team consisting of Amanda Smith, Jasmine Mitchell, Frances Dowd and Shannon Morton earned a first-place finish with a time of 11:25.15, while the team of Katarina Smiljanec, Shalonda Mitchell, Hanna Green and Sarah Rapp finished in second with a time of 11:29.97.

Ciara Simms ran her best time this season in the women’s 60-meter dash with a time of 7.66, earning a seventh place.

In the women’s unseeded pole vault, Lyndsey Saunders finished in third place with a mark of 11’09.75” (3.60m).

The Doc Hale VT Elite Meet will continue tomorrow with events beginning at 11 a.m.

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