DES MOINES, Iowa - The Virginia Tech Track & Field program opened up competition at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Wednesday at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa. The No. 4 Tech women's team had six athletes advance in the national competition, while the Hokies' No. 40 men's team saw two athletes move onto the final round in their respective field events.

In the semifinals of the 5,000-meter race, Tasmin Fanning currently stands in third place after compiling a time of 16:47.66. The top 16 in the preliminary race will compete in Friday's final, set to begin at 10:15 p.m.

Erin Mahony and Kelly Phillips both cleared season-best heights of 13'5.25" (4.10m) in the qualifying round of the women's pole vault. Mahony, Phillips, and 12 other competitors will return to action in Friday's final round, which will start at 8:30 p.m.

Junior Brittany Pryor is in seventh place in the women's hammer throw with a mark of 203'0" (61.88m) in the qualifying round. Pryor's longest mark of the day came on her final attempt of the day and fell just five inches short of tying her personal-best distance. Kristen Callan earned 10^th place with a distance of 200'9" (61.20m) on her first mark of the event. Both Pryor and Callan qualified for the final flight, which will begin at 4:15 p.m. on Friday. Freshman Dorotea Habazin took 15^th place with a distance of 197'5" (60.18m) on her second effort of the day.

Sherlenia Green advanced through the first round of the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 59.01 seconds. Tomorrow's semifinal heats are slated to start at 5:45 p.m. Asia Washington just missed qualifying for the semifinals by .07 seconds, and settled for a 16^th-place finish with a time of 59.09 seconds. Queen Harrison recorded a DNS (did not start).

Matej Muza finished eighth in the men's hammer throw event with a mark of 212'6" (64.77m) on his first toss of the day. Muza will be among the top 12 who will compete in the final round, which is set for 6:30 p.m. on Friday.

Yavjeniy Olhovsky was one of 15 competitors to clear a height of 17'2.75" (5.25m). Olhovsky managed to clear the height on his first attempt of the day. Olhovsky and 14 other vaulters will compete in the final round at 5:15 p.m. on Friday.

Tech's 4x100-meter relay of Green, Britni Spruill, Harrison, and Shakirra Pinnock took 15^th place in the preliminaries with a time of 45.01 seconds.

The NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships continue tomorrow with Justin Clickett starting things off for the Hokies in the men's shot put at 5:15 p.m. Live stats can be found at http://www.flashresults.com/2008_Meets/outdoor/DivisionI/.