March 31, 2009

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Florida State's Javier Garcia-Tunon and Boston College's Timothy Ritchie have been named Atlantic Coast Conference Co-Performers of the Week for the second week of the outdoor season. Virginia Tech's Brittany Pryor and NC State's Angelina Blackmon each share the ACC Women's Co-Performer of the week honors as well. Each student-athlete earned NCAA regional qualification last week.

FSU's Garcia-Tunon is a senior from Miami, Fla. The Sprinter guided the path last week for the Seminoles, taking first place in the 400m Hurdles in a regional qualifying 51.19. Garcia-Tunon also ranks first in the league in the 800m.

Ritchie, a senior from Worchester, Mass., ranked as the top collegiate performer in the 5,000m at the Raleigh Relays last weekend with a time of 14:09.63. The Boston College distance runner finished third overall to rank as the fourth fastest in Eagle history and the fastest since 2007 for Boston College. The run also punched his ticket for the NCAA East Regional.

Virginia Tech's Pryor, a senior from Niagara Falls, N.Y., earned first place in the Hammer Throw last weekend at the Weems Baskin Relays in Columbia S.C. Her mark of 56.16m bested the NCAA regional qualifying mark by over 2 meters and made Pryor the first Hokie to qualify regionally this season.

Blackmon, a senior from Rock Hill, S.C. set a new NC State school record in the 800m last weekend at the Raleigh Relays. Her time of 2:07.58 bested a 1989 school record in the event and earned a ticket to the NCAA East Regional. Blackmon's time is over three seconds better than the next best ACC time.

The outdoor season continues this week as all twelve league teams will be in action across the nation. The ACC season will build to the 2009 ACC Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Coral Gables, Fla. at Miami's Cobb Stadium on April 16-18.