Jan. 20, 2002

BLACKSBURG, VA - Cliff Neal, a senior thrower from Winston-Salem, NC, highlighted a strong performance by the Wake Forest indoor track & field teams this weekend at Virginia Tech's Kroger Invitational by winning the men's 35-pound Weight Throw with a mark of 61-2.25. Luke Orman broke the school record in the men's Long Jump with a mark of 24-8.25 and the women's Distance Medley Relay team took second place with a time of 11:44.00.

Anne Bersagel was the second collegian to cross the finish line in the 3,000m, taking fourth place overall with a time of 9:52.26 - the best time in the ACC so far this season. Carol Merritt took sixth in the 600m with a time 1:38.86 and Jackie Muscente came in seventh with a time of 1:39.30. Shauna Danos ran the team's best time of the season in the 800m, finishing with a 2:14.68. Caitlin Dempsey took nearly two minutes off her previous time in the 5,000m, running a 18:43.28 for 11th place. Jill Kovalcik cleared 10-11.75 in the Pole Vault to finish eighth. Sandra Jenkins came in tenth place in the Shot Put with a mark of 43-10.75.

John Stone, Patrick Ladapo and Patrick Reeves all bettered their times in the 200-Meter Dash, running sub-23 second times. Stone led the Demon Deacon sprinters with a team-best time of 22.30. Brandon Bartholomew ran the team's second best time of the season in the Mile with a time of 4:23.73. Chris Demetra ran a career best 15:19.43 in the 5,000m to place sixth and Matt Busick came in 15th with a time of 16:03.99. Zach Hamilton cleared 14-7.25 in the Pole Vault to tie for 12th place. Tom Tymann reached a career best 49-6.25 in the Shot Put to come in sixth place.

The Demon Deacons will return to action on Jan. 25-26 at the Penn State National Open in State College, PA. Complete results from the Kroger Invitational are available at hokiesportsinfo.com.