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BLACKSBURG, Va. – In his first meet competing in a Virginia Tech uniform, Manuel Ziegler hit the second highest mark in the men’s triple jump in the nation en route to a first-place finish at the Virginia Tech Invitational, while several other Hokies posted quality performances to kick off the 2015 home meet schedule.

Ziegler’s mark of 53’00.75” (16.17m) places him second nationally behind Eastern Michigan’s Donald Scott. Ziegler’s impressive jump also sits him atop of the ACC leaderboard in the triple jump and places him second overall in the Virginia Tech record book behind former Hokie great Hasheem Halim. The Dresden, Germany native out jumped the nearest competitor by almost three feet.

Thomas Curtin posted a first-place finish in the men’s one-mile race with a personal best of 4:09.63. Andrew Gaiser finished in second-place overall with a time of 4:14.11. Stuart Robertson came in fourth with a time of 4:17.13.

In the men’s 1000-meter race, Neil Gourley took the top spot with a time of 2:27.57, while teammate Darren Barlow posted a third-place finish crossing the line at 2:28.42.

Patrick Joseph won the men’s 3000-meter race with a time of 8:25.20. Clemson’s Roland Hakes led for the entirety of the race, but Joseph used a surge at the end to push ahead winning the race by two-tenths of a second.

In the men’s weight throw, Tomas Kruzliak finished in second with a mark of 66’11.25” (20.40m).

In the prelims of the men’s 60-meter dash, Alex Ellison posted an impressive finish of 6.83 seconds to put him fifth all time in the Virginia Tech record books. Ellison finished in seventh in the finals with a time of 6.84 seconds.

In the women’s one-mile race, competing unattached, Hanna Green finished in first place with a time of 4:56.11, while Sarah Rapp came in second with a time of 4:57.17.

Amanda Smith and Katarina Smiljanec posted two-three finishes in the women’s 1000-meter race. Smith earned second place with a time of 2:47.41 while Smiljanec earned third with a time of 2:50.48.

In the women’s unseeded pole vault, Olivia Privitera and Erinn Schaal finished in third and fourth places, respectively, both hitting heights of 11’03.75” (3.45m). Privitera moved ahead of Schaal based on misses.

The Hokies will conclude the Virginia Tech Invitational tomorrow with the first event starting at 11 a.m.

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