PIazza, Barton advance to finals at USA track and field meet

Drew Piazza set a personal-best to qualify for the finals in the men's 800, while Laurie Barton did the same on the women's side at the junior championships

June 23, 2017

Virginia Tech track and field athlete Laurie Barton, and Drew Piazza, who wrapped up his Tech career at the NCAA Championships two weeks ago, qualified for the finals of their respective events to headline the Virginia Tech contingent at the USA Outdoor Championships and USA Junior Outdoor Championships both being held concurrently over the weekend at Sacramento State University in Sacramento, California.

Competing at the USA Junior Outdoor Championships, Barton, a rising sophomore from Clemson, South Carolina, came in third in her heat and third overall in the semifinals Friday afternoon, running the women’s 800-meter run in a time of 2 minutes, 7.49 seconds. The top three finishers in each of the two qualifying heats and the next two best times advanced to the finals, which will take place Saturday afternoon.

Competing at the USA Outdoor Championships, Piazza finished fourth overall and fourth in his heat in the semifinals of the men’s 800. Piazza, who finished sixth in the 800 at the NCAA Championships, ran a personal-best time of 1:45.83 to advance to Saturday’s finals, as the top four finishers in each of the two semifinal heats advances to the finals.

Also, competing at the USA Outdoor Championships, Tech’s Hanna Green and Greg Chiles both missed on qualifying for the finals of their respective events. Green, the silver medalist in the women’s 800 at the NCAA Championships, came in eighth in her semifinal heat Saturday, running the event in a time of 2:06.58. The two four finishers in each of the two qualifying heats advanced to Saturday’s finals.

Chiles came in 18^th overall in the first round of the 400-meter hurdles and just missed qualifying for the semifinals by two spots. The rising senior from Chesapeake, Virginia came in fifth in his heat with a time of 50.49 seconds, which was 12-hundredths of a second from advancing.

The Hokies’ Arlicia Bush finished 10^th overall in the semifinals of the women’s 400-meter race at the USA junior meet, and she missed advancing to the finals by just two spots. The rising sophomore from Princeton, Kentucky came in third in her heat with a time of 53.73 seconds, which was only 33-hundredths of a second behind the last qualifier for the eighth spot.

Former Tech track and field standouts Kristi Castlin and Queen Harrison also are competing at the USA Outdoor Championships. Both of them participated in the first round of the 100-meter hurdles Friday and advanced to the semifinals. Castlin finished second in her heat with a time of 13.00 seconds, while Harrison came in second in her heat with a time of 13.01 seconds. The semifinals and finals are Saturday afternoon.

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