1/21/2002

Blacksburg, Va. - The men's indoor track & field team took part in the Kroger/Virginia Tech Invitational his past weekend Blacksburg, Va. The two-day meet was held at Rector Fieldhouse on Friday-Saturday, January 18-19, on the Virginia Tech campus. GU posted several post-season qualifying performances at the meet, which was based on individual finishes and not team scoring.

Senior Corey Smith (Hawley, Pa./Wallenpaupack) and sophomore Jesse O'Connell (Westminister, Md./Westminster) both posted NCAA provisional qualifying performances over the weekend.  Smith and the Hoyas' DMR squad were also the lone winners for the Hoyas. 

Corey Smith clocked 8:11.52 to win the 3000-meter run, while O'Connell crossed the finish line of the 800-meter run in 1:49.93 to garner a third-place finish.   The GU distance medley relay team of Dan Tebbano (Jr., Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa), John Marquiss (Sr., Chambersburg, Pa./Mercerburg Academy), Jeff Reinhardt (Sr., Whitesboro, N.Y./Whitesboro) and Dylan Welsh (Jr., Saratoga Springs, N.Y./Saratoga Springs Senior) was victorious in that event with a time of 9:59.06. East Carolina was second in 10:11.02.

Senior Chris Miltenberg (East Northport, N.Y./John Glenn) earned a second place finish in the 3000-meters in 8:12.05, while grad student Kyle Smits (Bellevue, Wash./Newport) was second in the mile run with a time of 4:11.18. Junior Mike Smith (Princeton, Mass./Wachusetts) claimed the third spot in the mile with a 4:12.38 mark.  Ben Cook, running unattached, won the race in 4:09.45. Also returning home with a second-place finish was grad student Josh Rollins (Odenton, Md./Arundel). Rollins posted a mark of 15.59 meters in the triple jump for the second spot. George Mason's Allen Simms won the event with a jump of 16.31 meters. Miltenberg, Smits, Mike Smith and Rollins all qualify for the IC4As with their performances.

Sophomore Ali Najjar (Temple Hills, Md./Northwestern) recorded a sixth-place finish in the 800-meter run  in 1:50.80, an IC4A-qualifying time.  South Carolina's Otikile Lekote won the 800 in 1:49.78.