Former Virginia Tech All-American Kristi Castlin won the 60 meter hurdles at the USA Indoor Track & Field National Championship in Albuquerque, N.M. on Sunday.

Castlin’s winning time of 7.84 in the final was a personal best and is currently the world’s leading time. Castlin, who won her first national championship, will represent the United States at the IAAF World Indoor Track & Field Championship in Istanbul, Turkey from March 9-11.

While at Virginia Tech, Castlin was a seven-time All-American in the hurdles. A three-time NCAA runner-up, Castlin’s seven All-America awards are the most for any woman in Tech track & field history. She was also a three-time ACC Champion.

In addition, another former Hokie All-American, Jared Jodon, tied for seventh in the pole vault with a mark of 17-8.5 (5.40m). As a Hokie student-athlete, Jodon earned All-America honors at the 2010 NCAA Outdoor Championship with a seventh place finish. He was also the ACC outdoor champion in the pole vault last year.

    Senior sprinter Aunye Boone of the women’s track & field team has been named a recipient of the Academic Momentum Award as announced by the Scholar Baller® program, in conjunction with the National Consortium for Academics and Sports (NCAS). Boone was one of 49 student-athletes honored from across the nation and was tabbed to the second team.

    Nominations were categorized into three teams based on each student-athlete’s academic improvement and the impact each student-athlete’s academic performance had on his or her classmates, teammates, academic advisors, and professors.

    Boone, an English major from St. Leonard, Md., led the team in the outdoor 400-meter dash this past season, setting a personal best at the Hurricane Invitational (55.23). Indoors, she ran on the school record-setting 4x400-meter relay at the ACC Championships (3:38.16) and was named to the All-ACC and USTFCCCA Academic Teams.

     The NCAS is an ever-growing organization of colleges and universities that provides opportunities for current and former student-athletes to continue their pursuit of higher education, while working in the community with children to address social issues. Established in 1985, the overall mission of the NCAS is “to create a better society by focusing on educational attainment and using the power appeal of sport to positively affect social change.”

     Established in 1995, the Scholar Baller® movement evolved in response to concerns that the student-athlete’s athletics role increasingly superseded the student role. In order to address this issue, the founding members of Scholar Baller developed a groundbreaking program to bridge the gap between education and sport utilizing student-athletes’ passion for entertainment and athletics. As a result, the Scholar Baller program has produced unprecedented outcomes in student retention and academic achievement.

The Virginia Tech cross country and track & field teams will be holding their fourth annual Shoe Drive this Saturday, Sept. 24, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Cassell Coliseum.
    Please bring any gently worn shoes that you no longer wear, and help provide free footwear to those in desperate need. All shoes will be donated to either Soles4Souls or the Nike Re-Use A Shoe program. 851 pairs were collected last year, and teams have the goal of collecting 1,000 pairs this year.
    The Shoe Drive will happen rain or shine, and the drop-off area will be located in the half-circle bus pull-through on the Spring Road side of Cassell. If you can’t make it on Saturday, you can still drop off shoes with Stacey Vidt in the track/cross country office in Cassell or at the Student Life office.
    In addition, if you don’t have any shoes to donate but would still like to help, please consider donating $1 to off-set the shipping costs.
    Join the Virginia Tech cross country and track & field teams in their efforts to reach out to the less fortunate!
    For more information on the Shoe Drive, contact Virginia Tech cross country/track & field Technical Director Stacey Vidt at (540) 231-6929 or svidt@vt.edu

Former Virginia Tech track & field athlete and three-time NCAA Champion Queen Harrison placed fourth in her heat in the semifinal round of the women’s 400-meter hurdles but failed to qualify for the final at the IAAF World Track & Field Championships in Daegu, South Korea on Tuesday morning.

Harrison, running in lane three of the second heat, placed fourth in a time of 55.44 seconds. The top two places from each of the three heats automatically qualified for the final. The remaining two spots in the final went to the next two fastest times among all three heats, but Harrison’s time was not among that group.

Fans can watch tape-delayed television coverage of today’s events at the World Track & Field Championships on Universal Sports at 2:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. EST.

Former Virginia Tech track & field athlete and three-time NCAA Champion Queen Harrison advanced to the semifinal round of the women’s 400-meter hurdles at the IAAF World Track & Field Championships in Daegu, South Korea on Monday morning.

Harrison, representing the United States, finished third in her heat. She clocked the sixth-fastest qualifying time overall, finishing in 55.11 seconds.

The semifinal round of the 400m hurdles takes place tomorrow, Aug. 30, with the final occurring on Wednesday, Sept. 1.

Fans can watch tape-delayed television coverage of today’s events at the World Track & Field Championships on Universal Sports at 2:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. EST.

In its 26th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with ESPN RISE, has announced Tech signee Leah Nugent of Abington Senior High School as its 2010-11 Gatorade Pennsylvania Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year. Nugent is the first Gatorade Pennsylvania Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year to be chosen from Abington Senior High School.

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the track, distinguishes Nugent as Pennsylvania’s best high school girls track & field athlete. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year award, Nugent joins an elite alumni association of state award-winners in 12 sports, including Allyson Felix (2001-02, Los Angeles Baptist, Calif.), Derek Jeter (1991-92, Kalamazoo HS, Mich.), Candace Parker (2001-02, Naperville Central HS, Ill.), Abby Wambach (1997-98, Our Lady of Mercy, N.Y.), Mark Sanchez (2004-05, Mission Viejo HS, Calif.), Lolo Jones (1997-98, Roosevelt HS, Ia.) and Bianca Knight (2006-07, Ridgeland HS, Miss.).

The 5-foot-8 senior won the 300-meter intermediate hurdles in a state-record time of 41.10 seconds at the Class 3A state championship meet this spring, leading the Galloping Ghosts to a second-place finish as a team. Nugent also anchored the 4x400-meter relay quartet to a championship in another state-record time of 3:46.20. Her state-meet performance in the 300 hurdles ranked as the nation’s No. 3 mark among prep competition in 2011 at the time of her selection. Nugent won the 400-meter hurdles at this month’s New Balance Outdoor Nationals in 57.72.
Nugent has maintained a 3.35 GPA in the classroom. A youth leader and Bible teacher in her church community, she has volunteered locally on behalf of the Special Olympics.

“Leah is an exceptional athlete who has an unmatched work ethic,” said Abington High Sprint Coach Karl Gaines. “She’s an amazing competitor, but she’s also a leader. She’s that athlete you can depend on every time she steps on the track.”

Nugent signed a National Letter of Intent to compete in track and field on scholarship at Virginia Tech last fall.

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by ESPN RISE and the Gatorade high school sports leadership team, which work with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.

The Virginia Tech women’s and men’s track and field squads will enter the NCAA Preliminary rounds ranked fifth and 17^th, respectively, in the final USTFCCCA rankings before the beginning of the NCAA meet on Thursday.

The women’s team stayed at No. 5 for the fifth-consecutive week, while the men’s unit remained at 17^th in the country for the second-straight week. A total of 26 Hokies, 16 women and 10 men, qualified for the national meet in 30 events.

The NCAA East Preliminary Round begins on Thursday and will run through Saturday in Greensboro, North Carolina. The Hokies’ first event will be at 4 p.m., on Thursday when Harrison and Washington will compete in the first round of the women’s 400-meter hurdles. Results will be available on hokiesports.com.

After their final regular season meets of the year last weekend, the Virginia Tech men’s track and field squad leaped four spots in the latest USTFCCCA rankings, announced on Tuesday, to 17^th in the nation. The Hokie women remained at No. 5 for the fourth straight week.

The Hokies next competition will be the NCAA Preliminary Round in Greensboro, N.C., on May 27-29. The NCAA qualifiers will be announced on Friday, May 21^st at 5 p.m.  

For the third straight week, the Virginia Tech women’s track and field team held the fifth spot in the latest USTFCCCA NCAA Division I National Team Rankings, the coaches association announced on Tuesday, while the men’s squad sits in 21^st. 

Tech is the top-ranked ACC team on the women’s side, while the men’s squad is the second-highest ranked ACC school. Florida State stands in eighth on the men’s side.

The Hokies will split up this weekend, with the sprints and throws units as well as a contingent of the distance crew heading to Atlanta, Ga., for the Georgia Tech Invitational on Friday and Saturday. The pole vaulters and selected distance runners will compete in Greensboro, N.C., for the Aggie/Tar Heel Classic on Sunday.

The Virginia Tech women’s track and field squad remained in the top five in the latest USTFCCCA National Team Rankings, staying put at fifth in the country, while the men’s team slipped to 20^th in the nation. 

Last weekend, the Hokies competed at the Liberty Twilight and the Jessie Owens Classic in Lynchburg, Va., and Columbus, Ohio, respectively. Junior Kelly Phillips won the pole vault at the Liberty Twilight with a season-best vault of 13-01.50, a team-high this season, and freshman David Wilson captured the men’s triple jump with a leap of 49-09.00. 

At the Jessie Owens Classic, the Hokies won three distance events. Sophomore Michael Hammond set a facility record en route to a first-place finish in the men’s 1,500-meters, and sophomore Will Mulherin won the men’s 5,000-meter run. Hammond clocked a 3:43.65, while Mulherin ran a 14:12.33. Freshman Sammy Dow notched a victory in the women’s mile with a time of 4:58.40 at the meet.

The Hokies will take this weekend off before traveling to Atlanta, Ga., for the Georgia Tech Invitational on May 14-15, and to Chapel Hill, N.C., for the North Carolina Elite Meet on May 16. Results will be available on hokiesports.com. 

The Virginia Tech women’s track and field squad vaulted into the top five, while the Tech men also moved up in the latest USTFCCCA national rankings released on Tuesday. The women’s team ranks fifth in the nation, while the men’s squad jumped a spot to 17^th.

The Hokies competed at the Penn Relays and the Vertklasse Meet last weekend. Senior Queen Harrison set a school and meet record en route to a Penn Relays championship in the women’s 100-meter hurdles. The Richmond, Va., native clocked a 12.61 in the race. Sophomore Will Mulherin captured the Olympic Development mile run title at the meet in 4:00.93.

At the Vertklasse meet, junior Kelly Phillips placed first in the women’s pole vault, while junior Eddie Judge took the top spot in the men’s 1,500-meter run. Phillips cleared 12-05.50, and Judge ran a 3:49.14.

The Hokies will next compete in the Liberty Twilight on Thursday in Lynchburg, Va., and the Jessie Owens Classic on Friday and Saturday in Columbus, Ohio. Results will be available on hokiesports.com.

The Virginia Tech men’s track and field squad moved up to No. 8 in the latest USTFCCCA National Rankings, released on Tuesday, while the women’s in 22nd in the nation.

The Hokie men vaulted up the rankings after a successful 2010 ACC Indoor Championships, in which the squad placed third with 97 points and remained in contention for the team title until the very end. The Tech men stood in 15^th in the latest rankings, the Hokie women sat at No. 20.

Tech returns to the track on Saturday with the Virginia Tech Final Qualifier in Rector Field House. Results will be available on hokiesports.com. 

After two weeks of competition, both Virginia Tech track and field squads remained ranked in the latest USTFCCCA NCAA Division I National Rankings. The Tech men stay at No. 13, while the Hokie women sit at No. 18 in the country. In the preseason poll, both squads were ranked 13^th in the nation.

Five Hokies currently own NCAA marks on the men’s side. Senior Yavgeniy Olhovsky (pole vault), junior Hunter Hall (pole vault), sophomore Marcel Lomnicky (weight throw), sophomore Keith Ricks (60m dash) and freshman David Wilson (triple jump) all established NCAA provisional marks at the Hokie Invitational last weekend.

On the women’s side, seniors Queen Harrison and Kristi Castlin finished one-two in the 60-meter hurdles with NCAA automatic-qualifying times at the Hokie Invite. Harrison provisionally qualified in the 400-meters, and freshman Ogechi Nwaneri earned a provisional mark in the 60-meter dash as well at the meet.

The Hokies hit the road this weekend for the Penn State National in University Park, Pa., on Friday and Saturday. Results will be available on hokiesports.com.

Several Hokie pole vaulters will begin their 2009 track and field campaigns, competing unattached at the Liberty Kick Off in Lynchburg, Va., on Thursday.

Senior Yavgeniy Olhovsky, as well as juniors Hunter Hall, Joe Davis, Michael Miller and Jared Jodon will compete on the men’s side, while junior Elise Birnbaum and freshmen Emma DeJarnette and Leigh Allin will vault in the women’s competition. 

Former Hokies Brian Mondschein, Adam Bingaman and Erin Mahoney will also take part in the pole vault at the Liberty Kick Off. The event is scheduled to begin at 6:45 p.m.

All Hokie athletes are competing unattached, meaning they will pay their own way at the meet, will not be representing Virginia Tech and the results do not count toward NCAA Championship competition.

The Virginia Tech track & field and cross country teams will be holding their second annual Shoe Drive this Saturday, Oct. 24, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in front of Cassell Coliseum.

Please bring any gently worn shoes that you no longer wear, and help provide free footwear to those in desperate need. All shoes will be donated to either Soles4Souls or the Nike Re-Use A Shoe program. Over 250 pairs were collected last year, but the teams hope to at least double that this year.

The shoe drive will happen rain or shine, and the drop-off area will be located in the half-circle bus pull-through on the Spring Road side of Cassell.

A financial donation of $1.00 will be accepted to help the team cover all shipping costs.

Join the Virginia Tech Track & Field and Cross Country team in their efforts to reach out to the less fortunate!

The Virginia Tech men’s track and field squad moved up two slots to No. 22 in the country, while the women’s team moved up one spot to No. 9 in the nation in the latest United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll.

The squads will split up this weekend, as the sprinters, throwers and some of the distance crew will head to Atlanta, Ga., for the Georgia Tech Invitational on Friday and Saturday. The rest of the distance unit, along with the pole vaulters, will travel to Chapel Hill, N.C., for the Tar Heel and Aggie Classic.

The entire coaches association poll can be viewed at www.ustfccca.org.

The Virginia Tech women’s track and field squad is ranked 10th, while the men’s team moved up a spot to 24th in new United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll released on Wednesday. The full rankings can be found on www.ustfccca.org.

The track and field squads will take this weekend off, before heading to the Georgia Tech Invitational on May 15-16 and the North Carolina Elite Meet on May 17. Results will be available on hokiesports.com.