Feb. 25, 2011

BLACKSBURG, Va. – Host Virginia Tech sat atop the men’s field, while defending champion Clemson held the women’s lead as the second session of the 2011 Atlantic Coast Conference Indoor Track and Field Championship concluded Friday at Rector Field House.

Heading into Saturday’s third and final day of competition, the Virginia Tech men have amassed 52 team points. Eight-time defending champion Florida State holds second place with 33 points. NC State, with 30.5 points, rounds out the top three.

On the women’s side, Clemson leads with 54 points, while North Carolina holds second place with 36 and Virginia Tech is in third at 28.5.

With most of the running events and a handful of field events yet to be decided, Saturday’s session will be pivotal in determining the final team winners. But Friday’s full day of action didn’t disappoint when it came to impressive individual performances and intense competition.

The conclusion of the men’s heptathlon on Friday saw Clemson senior Miller Moss set an ACC record and showcased a trio of the conference’s most talented and versatile student-athletes.

Moss finished with 5,881 points, bettering the previous event record of 5,847 set by Florida State’s Gonzalo Barroilhet in 2009. Duke sophomore Curtis Beach, buoyed by a strong showing in the 1,000-meter run that concluded the competition, placed second with 5,816 points. 2010 champion Mateo Sossah of North Carolina posted a bronze medal total of 5,674.

The heptathlon totals amassed by Moss, Beach and Sossah rank first, second and sixth respectively among NCAA competitors this season.

Maryland junior Dwight Barbiasz placed first in the men’s high jump with a distance of 7-2 ¼ (2.19 m), reclaiming the gold medal he first won as a freshman in 2009. The Terrapins also picked up the silver medal in the event, as Maryland sophomore Jon Hill placed second.

Virginia Tech piled up 24 points in the men’s weight throw by sweeping the top three positions. 2010 champion Alexander Ziegler successfully defended his title with a gold medal throw of 70-4 ½ (21.45 m). He was followed by Hokie junior Marcel Lomnicky, the 2009 winner, and sophomore Denis Mahmic. A Virginia Tech student-athlete has won the ACC men’s weight throw in five of the seven years that the Hokies have been members of the conference.

Florida State put its first points on the board in the men’s long jump competition, as Ngonidzashe Makusha claimed the gold medal with a distance of 26-9 (8.15 m) and teammate Madanha Chibudu took the silver.

Virginia junior Ryan Collins used a strong kick on the final lap to claim his third straight gold medal in the men’s 5,000 meters. Collins’ winning time of 14:07.68 was his best ACC Championship showing yet, topping his first-place time last year by nearly 16 seconds.

The men’s distance relay belonged to NC State, as the team of Adam Henken, Miles Walker, Gregory Dame and Ryan Hill led the field with a time of 9:43.31.

Clemson’s Brittney Waller opened the women’s field competition with a winning throw of 64-8 ½ (19.72 m), prevailing over Virginia Tech’s Dorotea Habazin – the 2009 gold medalist – in a tie-breaker.

Florida State senior Kimberly Williams took the long jump with a distance of 21-6 (6.55 m), leading a strong field that included Clemson’s April Sinkler, this year’s silver medalist and the event winner each of the previous two years.

The women’s high jump championship belonged to North Carolina’s Patience Coleman, whose 5-11 ½ (1.82 m) distance narrowly topped Clemson’s Sinkler’s distance of 5-10 ½. Sinkler was bidding for her third straight gold medal in the event.

Three years after winning the women’s gold medal in the pole vault as a freshman, Virginia Tech senior Kelly Phillips earned another first-place finish with a vault of 13-11 ¼ (4.25 m), four inches higher than her nearest competition.

The Championship’s first women’s running event went to Wake Forest, which saw senior Anna Nosenko post a gold medal time of 16:09.64 in the 5,000-meter run.

The Virginia distance medley relay team of Morgane Gay, Vanessa Fabrizio, Lyndsay Harper and Stephanie Garcia closed the women’s competition with a first-place run of 11:14.15.

The final session of the 2011 ACC Indoor Track and Field Championships will begin Saturday with field event competition at 11 a.m. The running events, in which most individual champions are still to be determined, begin at noon.

Live coverage can be seen on theACC.com from noon until 4:00 pm. In addition, live results can be found by visiting the ACC’s official championship website: http://www.theacc.com/championships/11-itf-livestats.html

2011 ACC INDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS SCHEDULE

Saturday, Feb. 26
11 a.m. Field Events (Final): SP (W), TJ (W), PV (M), SP (M), TJ (M)
12 p.m. Running Events (Final): Mile, 60mH, 400m, 60m, 800m, 200m, 3000m, 4x400m Relay

Men’s Team Scoring through 6 of 17 events
1. Virginia Tech 52
2. Florida State 33
3. NC State 30.5
4. Maryland 27
5. Duke 25
6. Virginia 24
7. Clemson 19
8, North Carolina q7.5
9. Wake Forest 9
10. Georgia Tech 8
11. Miami 3
12. Boston College 2

Women’s Team Scoring through 7 of 17 events
1. Clemson 54
2. North Carolina 36
3. Virginia Tech 28.5
4. Maryland 25
5. Florida State 22.5
6. Duke 22
7. Virginia 21
t-8. Miami 17
t-8. NC State 17
10. Georgia Tech 12
11. Wake Forest 10
12. Boston College 8

Friday’s Top-Three Finishers (All-ACC)

Men’s Heptathlon
1. Miller Moss, Sr., Clemson 5,881 - !^%
2. Curtis Beach, So., Duke 5,816 - !
3. Mateo Sossah, Sr., North Carolina 5,674 - !

Men’s High Jump
1. Dwight Barbiasz, Jr., Maryland 7-2 ¼ (2.19 m)
2. Jon Hill, So., Maryland 7-0 ½ (2.15 m)
t3. Kris Kornegay-Gober, So., NC State 6-10 ¾ (2.10 m)
t3. Ronnie Black, Virginia Tech, So., 6-10 ¾ (2.10 m)

Men’s Long Jump
1. Ngonidzashe Makusha, Jr., Florida State 26-9 (8.15 m) - !
2. Madanha Chibudu, Sr., Florida State 24-9 ¼ (7.55 m)
3. Jeff Artis-Gray, So., Virginia Tech 24-9 (7.54 m)

Men’s Weight Throw
1. Alexander Ziegler, So., Virginia Tech 70-4 ½ (21.45 m)
2. Marcel Lomnicky, Jr., Virginia Tech 69-0 (21.03 m)
3. Denis Mahmic, So., Virginia Tech 65-4 (19.91)

Men’s 5000 Meter Run
1. Ryan Collins, Jr., Virginia 14:07.68
2. Andrew Colley, Fr., NC State 14:09.12
3. Michael Fout, So., Florida State 14:09.15

Men’s Distance Medley Relay (First-place finisher All-ACC)
1. NC State (Adam Henken, Sr.; Miles Walker, Jr.; Gregory Dame, Jr.; Ryan Hill, So.)

Women’s Weight Throw
1. Brittney Waller, So., Clemson 64-8 ½ (19.72 m)
2. Dorotea Habazin, Sr., Virginia Tech 64-8 ½ (91.72)
3. Miranda Wilson, Jr., Miami 63-4 ¾ (19.32 m)

Women’s Long Jump
1. Kimberly Williams, Sr., Florida State 21-6 (6.55 m) - !
2. April Sinkler, Sr., Clemson 21-1 ½ (6.44 m) - !
3. Amy Harris, Jr., Florida State 21-1 ¼ (6.43 m) - !

Women’s Pole Vault
1. Kelly Phillips, Sr., Virginia Tech 13-11 ¼ (4.25 m)
2. Amy Fryt, Sr., Duke 13-7 ¼ (4.15 m)
3. Merritt Van Meter, Fr., North Carolina 13-3 ½ (4.05 m)

Women’s High Jump
1. Patience Coleman, Sr., North Carolina 5-11 ½ (1.82 m)
2. April Sinkler, Sr., Clemson 5-10 ½ (1.79 m)
3. Ariel Roberts, So., North Carolina 5-8 ¾ (1.75 m)

Women’s 5000 Meter Run
1. Anna Nosenko, Sr., Wake Forest 16:09.64
2. Juliet Bottorf, So., Duke 16.10.38
3. Kimberly Ruck, Jr., Clemson 16:40,78

Women’s Distance Medley Relay (First-place finisher All-ACC)
1. Virginia 11:14.15 (Morgane Gay, So.; Vanessa Fabrizio, Fr.; Lyndsay Harper, Sr.; Stephanie Garcia, Sr.)

! - NCAA Automatic Qualifier
^ - ACC record
% - Rector Field House record

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