Jenia and Hunter earn All-American Honors
June 12, 2009. Junior Jenia Olhovsky and Freshman Hunter Hall both earned All-American Honors at the NCAA National Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Details can be found in the recent meets section of the web site.
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Summer Events
In addition to a few more meets, Coach Phillips will be attended two other pole vault related events this summer. He will be speaking at the 4th Annual Factory Vault on July 2nd and 3rd at Gill Athletics where Pacer poles are made. From July 26th to July 29th he will be coaching at the Vertical Assault Summer Pole Vault Camp at Moravian College in Bethlehem, PA.
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Latest Performances and meet recaps...
Meet results and meet recaps from the last four years can be accessed by clicking on the
recent meets link on the left. Latest results are from the May 30th NCAA Regional Championships in Greensboro, NC.
Video clips (from various meets) are accessable from the vaulters' profile pages.
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Hunter and Jenia Qualify for NCAA National Championships!
May 30th, 2009, Greensboro, NC. Hunter Hall and Jenia Olhovsky both finished in the top five at the NCAA regionals to earn a spot in the NCAA Nataional Championships to be held in two weeks at the University of Arkansas. Details can be found in the recent meets section of the web site.
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Jenia Olhovsky earns second ACC Gold Medal.
April 18, 2009, Miami, FL. Jenia Olhovsky claimed an outdoor ACC vault title to go with the indoor title he earned just last month. His 5.48m jump is currently one of the top five performances in the NCAA. Details of the conference meet can be found by following the recent meets link.
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Olhovsky and Hall Earn All-American Honors
March 14, 2009. Jenia Olhovsky finished 2nd and Hunter Hall finished 7th at this past weekend's NCAA National Championship. It marks the first time two VT men have earned All-American status at the same championship. Abby Schaffer also qualified to the meet and finished 13th in the women's event. See the recent meets link for more information.
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Abby Schaffer named ACC Freshman of the Year
March 6, 2009. Abby Schaffer was named ACC Freshman of the Year for Indoor Track and Field. In her first season as a Hokie, the native of Easton, PA set the Virginia Tech school record and won the pole vault at the indoor ACC championships..
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Alumnus Brian Mondschein Finishes 2nd at U.S.A. Indoor Championships
February 27, 2009, Boston, MA. While the current hokie crew were earning medals at the ACC conference championship, alumnus and volunteer coach Brian Mondschein was doing the same at the U.S.A. indoor championships. Brian jumped 5.50 meters to finish in 2nd place. It was the highest ever finish in a U.S.A national championship by a VT or former VT vaulter.
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VT Vaulters Earn Five Medals at ACC Championships!
February 27, 2009, Blacksburg, VA. The VT vaulters earned two gold, two silver, one one bronze medal in the indoor ACC Conference Championships earning 40.83 points for the team. Follow the results link for more information.
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Abby Schaffer sets School Record
February 21, 2009, Blacksburg, VA. Freshman Abby Schaffer set a personal and school record of 4.16 meters (13' 7.75") this weekend at the Virginia Tech Elite Meet. The previous record was set by Ashley Early at 4.15 meters. The vault provisionally qualifies Abby for the NCAA National Championships in March in College Station, Texas.
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Jenia Olhovsky sets School Record
February 7, 2009, Blacksburg, VA. Sophomore Jenia Olhvovsky set a personal and school record of 5.55 meters (18' 2.5") this weekend at the Virginia Tech Elite Meet. The previous record had been set by Brian Mondschein in 2006 at 5.52 meters. The vault automatically qualifies Jenia for the NCAA National Championships in March and provisionally qualifies him for the World Championships in Berlin, Germany in August.
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VT Vaulters receive ACC and NCAA academic honors!!!
August 5th, 2008. Only thirty-seven women were named this year to the All-ACC academic team from several hundred female track and field athletes that attend the twelve ACC schools. Two Virginia Tech vaulters were among those thirty-seven. Congratulations to senior Erin Mahony (Industrial Engineering) and freshman Kelly Phillips (Biology and HNFE) for this honor.
Also announced this week was the All-Academic team of the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. Congratulations to sophomore Lisa Birnbaum (Art) and freshman Kelly Phillips for being selected for that honor.
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VT Graduate Students Finishing Strong Year
July 9, 2008. Three alumni of the VT pole vault squad and VT graduate students in the College of Engineering are finishing a strong year in the vault. After vaulting 16' 10" numerous times as a senior, Adam Bingaman broke through the 17' barrier at a number of meets this year and thus far has raised his PR to 17'4". Joe Samaniuk has pushed his PR up on three occasions to a high of 17' 10" and has seen his first attempts at 18'. Brian Mondschein also saw three PRs this year including an 18' 6" leap which qualified him for the U.S. Olympic Trials. All three plan to finish the season with pole vault only meets in Grand Haven, Michigan and Champaign, Illinois over the next two weekends.
The group will split up this fall. Joe is heading to the University of Wisconsin to pursue his Ph.D. He will be helping with some of the vaulting there under the direction of head coach and VT vault alumni Ed Nuttycomb. Brian will spend the fall training at Bell Athletics in Jonesboro, Arkansas with legendary coach Earl Bell before returning to VT for the Spring Semester. Adam will continue to train and attend graduate school here at VT. Joining the elite group here in Blacksburg will be recent graduate (and NCAA finalist) Erin Mahony.
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Jenia Olhovsky Claims Israeli Championships
July 3, 2008. 72nd Israeli Track & Field Championships. The Israel Athletics Association invited several Russians to increase the level of competition. The meet was won by Russion Igor Pavlov at 5.60m but Jenia was the top Israeli finisher opening at 5.23m, passing 5.33m, and missing at 5.43m.
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Jenia Wins League 2 European Cup with new PR
June 22, 2008, Vienna, Austria. Jenia Olhovsky won the European Cup League 2 pole vault with a new personal best of 5.45m. He then took three attempts at a VT school record 5.55m.
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Three VT vaulters Qualify for NCAA finals. Two make All-American.
June 2008. Des Moines, Iowa. Senior Erin Mahony, Freshman Kelly Phillips, and Sophomore Jenia Olhovsky all jumped well at Wednesday's NCAA preliminary round to advance to today's final. In that final both Jenia and Kelly earned All-American honors. See the recent meets section of this site for all the details.
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Kelly Phillips recognized as scholar-athlete
ESPN The Magazine announced its Academic All-District teams this week with Kelly being selected to the second team in District Three for her outstanding work in the classroom. Earlier this spring Kelly was named a Scholar Athlete of the Year for the Virginia Tech Athletic Association and also named as the Women's Track and Field representative on the V.T. All Academic Team.
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Three VT vaulters qualifty for NCAA National Championships...
The VT vaulters had a very good East Regional meet with three VT vaulters earning births to the national championships. Senior Erin Mahony defended her East Region title with a season best jump of 4.06 meters. Results and a recap are accessible by going to the recent meets page.
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Mahony wins ACC Vault Title
April 17, 2008, Atlanta, GA. Senior Erin Mahony won the Atlantic Coast Conference outdoor vault title by clearing 3.90 meters. The senior from Kempsville High School in Virginia Beach has now won both an indoor and outdoor ACC title. The men and women vaulters combined for 36 points during the championship with Jenia Olhovsky and Jared Jodon taking silver and bronze medals and earning All ACC honors. Lisa Birnbaum, Joe Davis, and Kelly Phillips also finishing in scoring positions. See the recent meets page for more details.
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One of Nation's Best Commits to Virginia Tech
April 14, 2008. Blacksburg, VA. One of the best prep pole vaulters in the country will join the Virginia Tech squad this fall. Abby Schaffer is a six-time All-American in the pole vault and is also the reigning indoor and outdoor Pennsylvania state champion. Abby set a personal best of 13' 2.5" while finishing second at the Nike Indoor National Championships. Abby attends Easton Area High School where she is a member of the National Honor Society. Abby is an exceptional student and athlete and will be a welcome addition to the women's team. Read about the entire entering class for next year's women's team on www.hokiesports.com.
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Jenia Olhovsky finishes 5th at NCAA Championships
March 14, 20086, Fayetteville, Arkansas. Freshman Jenia Olhovsky earned All-American honors by finishing 5th at the NCAA National Championships with a jump of 5.40 meters (17' 8.5"). It was a new PR for Jenia and a great technical jump. He just barely brushed his second attempt at 18' 1/2" on the way down which would have put him first or second. More details can be found in the recent meets section.
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Phillips wins ACC Vault Title
February 29th, 2008, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Freshman Kelly Phillips won the Atlantic Coast Conference indoor vault title by clearing 3.90 meters. The men and women vaulters combined for 30 points during the championship with Jenia Olhovsky taking the silver medal position on the men's side and Jared Jodon, Hunter Hall, and Joe Davis also finishing in scoring positions. See the recent meets page for more details.
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New Addition to the Women's Squad
The Virginia Tech women's track and field staff has announced the addition of pole vaulter Elise Birnbaum, a transfer from Arkansas State. She will enroll as a sophomore at Tech in the fall of 2007.
Birnbaum won the bronze medal at the Sun Belt Conference Indoor Championships and silver at the outdoor championships during her freshman season with the Indians. Her personal best height is 12'3". Birnbaum attended Winter Park High School, where she had a personal-best vault of 12'0", which ranked as the second-highest vault in the state of Florida. Lisa plans to major in visual communication design.
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Jenia Olhovsky Finishes 4th at Israeli Championships
July 3, 2007. 71st Israeli Track & Field Championships. The Israel Athletics Association invited several Russians to increase the level of competition. The top 5 spots were:
1 Alex Averbukh (Israel) 5.70
2 Yevgeni Lukianenko (Russia) 5.60
3 Pavel Burlachenko (Russia) 5.45
4 Jenia Olhovsky (Israel) 5.35
5 Denis Kholev (Israel) 5.25
Jenia redshirted this year at VT because of some injuries but worked extremely hard all year on his running and his technique. It is great to see him come back and jump a personal best. Because of this performance Jenia will compete in the World University Games in Bangkok, Thailand on August 15th.
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Three VT Vaulters Earn Honors as Scholar-Athletes
June 30, 2007. Vaulters Joe Samaniuk, Adam Bingaman, and Ashley Early recently received a number of prestigious awards as scholar-athletes. All three were named to the 2007 All-ACC Academic Track & Field team. Only forty men and forty women are named each year to the All-ACC academic team from over 900 track and field athletes that attend the twelve ACC schools. In addition, Joe Samaniuk was selected by the NCAA as an academic All-American. Finally, Adam Bingaman received an NCAA post-graduate scholarship, one of only fifty-eight awarded this spring in all NCAA sports.
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Adam and Joe qualify for finals at NCAA Championships...
Joe Samaniuk and Adam Bingaman both cleared 5.15m in the preliminary round of the NCAA championships to advance to the finals.
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Five VT vaulters qualifty for NCAA National Championships...
The VT vaulters had a great east regional meet with five VT vaulters earning births to the national championships. The women's vault was won by VT junior Erin Mahony who set a new personal best of 4.06 meters. Results and a recap are accessible by going to the recent meets page.
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Top Vaulters from Florida and Virginia Commit to Tech
May 6 2007. Blacksburg, VA. Two of the East's best prep vaulters will be attending Virginia Tech this Fall and competing for the Hokie pole vault squad.
Joe Davis graduates from Riverview High School in Sarasota, FL this June and will major in Building Construction Management. Joe was ranked the #1 vaulter in the state of Florida for the 2006 outdoor season by FLrunners.com. He produced five marks above 15' during his junior campaign. He followed that up this year with a win at the Florida Sate Championship with a meet and personal best jump of 15' 10". Joe has been a recipient of Riverview's Scholar-Athlete award for three consecutive years. He is an active member of his church and community including Habit-for-Humanity.
Tim Beierle will also join squad after his graduation from Harrisonburg High School in Harrisonburg, Va. He was the 2007 Virginia AA State Indoor Champion and meet record holder with a height of 15'6", and is currently ranked as the No. 1 pole vaulter in the state with a personal best of 15'7". The 2007 outdoor meet is still several weeks away. Beierle has also been selected an All-Region performer as a member of his school's 4x200m and 4x400m relays. Beierle, a member of the National Honor Society, will study engineering at Virginia Tech.
Both vaulters are outstanding athletes and will be great additions to the Virginia Tech team.
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Ashley Early Claims ACC Conference Title, raises School Record
April 20, 2007, College Park, MD. Freshman Ashley Early set a personal and school record of 4.11 meters (13' 5.75") to win this weekend's ACC outdoor conference championship. At the time of this post it was the third highest jump in the country, the highest by a Freshman. Five other VT vaulters scored with a Bronze medal being earned by senior Adam Bingaman. See the results section for more details.
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Shootings at Virginia Tech
April 16, 2007. As everyone knows by now our quiet campus was devastated today by a senseless scene of violence. We are thankful that every member of the VT track and field team has been accounted for and is OK. All of us are in shock and are praying for those friends, classmates, and teachers who were not as fortunate and for their families.
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Erin Mahony and Ashley Early Raise School Record
March 31, 2007, Columbia SC. Junior Erin Mahony and feshman Ashley Early rasied the outdoor school record to 3.95m (12' 11.5") at the Weems Baskin Relays. Both had a good attempt at 4.06m. Details of the meet can be found in the recent results section
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Thorsten Mueller earns All-American Honors
Sophomore Thorsten Mueller had the third best meet of his life to tie for 7th at the NCAA championships. By finishing in the top eight Thorsten becomes VT's 5th NCAA All-American in the pole vault.
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Ashley Early sets School Record
March 2, 2007, Blacksburg, VA. Freshman Ashley Early set a personal and school record of 4.02 meters (13' 2.25") to win this weekend's Virginia Tech Last Chance Track Meet. She then took three very close attempts at 4.11 meters (13' 5.75"). See the recent meets section for complete results.
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Mahony and Mueller Win ACC Vault Titles
Erin Mahony and Thorsten Mueller won the women's and men's vault titles at this weeks ACC indoor championships. Five other VT vaulters scored with Silver and Bronze medals earned by Ashley Early and Joe Samaniuk. See the results section for more details.
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VT Signs Vault Standout Hunter Hall
November 14, 2006. Blacksburg, VA. The Virginia Tech track and field program has announced the signing of high school All-amerian pole vaulter Hunter Hall to a National Letter of Intent for the 2007-08 year.
Hunter Hall, a senior at Homestead High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana, is the number four ranked prep vaulter heading into the 2006-07 season. As a junior, he was the indoor and outdoor Indiana state champion and also finished fourth at the Nike Indoor Nationals with a personal best jump of 16' 8". Hunter, an honor roll student and an active volunteer in his community and church, will be a welcome addition to the Virginia Tech squad. Hunter's father, Randy Hall, was the 1980 NCAA champion in the pole vault while attending Texas A&M. Hunter's mother, Alicia Hall, was also a collegiate track athlete specializing in the 400 meter dash.
See full story at hokiesports.com.
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Six VT Vaulters Named to All-ACC Academic Team!!!
Only forty men and forty women are named each year to the All-ACC academic team from over 900 track and field athletes that attend the twelve ACC schools. In a real tribute to their academic dedication six Virginia Tech vaulters were named to the all-ACC academic team for the 05-06 acadmic year. They were: Jennifer Wade (Accounting Information Systems), Abbey McGrath (Biology/Pre-vet), Erin Mahony (Industrial Engineering), Brian Mondschein (Mechanical Engineering), Adam Bingaman (Computer Engineering), Joe Samaniuk (Chemical Engineering).
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North Carolina High School Coaches Clinic
Here are the slides from the July Clinic.
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Brian Mondschein finishes 4th at NCAA Championships
June 9th, 2006, Sacramento, CA. Senior Brian Mondschein earned All-American honors by finishing 4th at the NCAA National Championships with a jump of 5.45 meters (17' 10.5"). It was the second year in a row that Brian advanced through the preliminary and final rounds of competition without a miss below 18' . In his career at Virginia Tech Brian has won numerous invitational meets including the prestigious Sea Ray and Penn Relays. He has amassed 72 out of a possible 80 conference points, won five conference championships, set both the indoor and outdoor school records, won the NCAA East Region title twice, been an NCAA national qualifier 5 times and an NCAA All-American three times, including 5th, 2nd, and 4th place finishes.
In addition to being the most decorated vaulter in Virginia Tech History, Brian has been the most consistant vaulter in Tech History jumping near, at, or above his personnal best in almost every championship he ever participated in.
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Brian Mondschein wins NCAA East Regional Championship
May 26th, 2006, Greensboro, NC. Senior Brian Mondschein successfully defended his NCAA East Region title on Friday with a meet record jump of 5.41 meters (17' 9"). The win advances him to the NCAA National Championships in Sacramento California.
Three other Hokie vaulters competed at the East Regional championship: Jen Wade, Abbey McGrath, and Joe Samaniuk. All three placed at or higher than their pre-meet ranking with Abbey and Joe scoring points with 6th and 7th place finishes, respectively. See the results section of the web site for more details.
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Mondschein wins ACC Championships
April 22nd, 2006, Wake Forest University. Senior Brian Mondschein won his 4th outdoor conference title clearing 5.40 meters (17' 8.5"). Brian won two outdoor Big East titles and this is his second outdoor ACC title. The men and women vaulters combined for 23 points during the championship with Brian, Adam, Joe, Jen, and Abbey all scoring points.
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Abbey McGrath sets Outdoor School Record
April 15th, 2006, Knoxville, TN. Junior Abbey McGrath set a school and outdoor best of 3.90 meters (12' 9.50") to place second at the Sea Ray Relays. The former record was 3.80 held by Abbey set at the same meet last year and, technically, co-held by Jen Wade who jumped a P.R. of 3.80 meters about 30 minutes before Abbey raised it to 3.90.
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Brian Mondschein sets Outdoor School Record
April 8th, 2006, Clemson, SC. Senior Brian Mondschein set a school and personal record of 5.53 meters (18' 1.75") to win the Clemson Invitational. The former record was held by Brian Hunter at 5.52 meters. Brian Mondschein has now moved to the top of Virginia Tech's all time list. It looks like after the weekend results are posted Brian will have the current number three jump in the country.
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Erin Mahony sets School Record for second straight week
February 24, Blacksburg, VA. Erin Mahoney raised the school record today another 8 centimeters to 4.01 meters (13' 1.75"). The jump was good for 2nd at the ACC championships and is an NCAA provisional qualifying mark. See more on the results page.
February 18, Blacksburg, VA. junior Erin Mahony set a PR and school record of 3.93 meters (12' 10.75") to win this weekend's Virginia Tech Challenge. The former record was set just a few weeks ago by junior Abbey McGrath at 3.90 meters. Abbey also had a great look at the 3.93 bar. Erin then attempted 4.06 meters (13' 3.75") with an eye to grap the number 11 spot in the country and a possible birth to the national championships.
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Brian Mondschein sets School Record
February 11, State College, PA. Senior Brian Mondschein set a PR, school record, and NCAA national championship qualifying mark of 5.52 meters (18' 1.25") to win this weekend's meet at Penn State. The former record was held by Brian Hunter at 5.50 meters. It looks like after the weekend results are posted Brian will have the current number two jump in the country. It was a big clear and I have posted the jump on Brian's profile page..
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Abbey McGrath Raises School Record Again
January 13, 2006. Blacksburg, VA. After raising the school record to 3.86 meters (12' 7.75") in December at the Hokies first indoor meet, junior Abbey McGrath raised the record again at the Hokies first home meet. Abbey had a clean first attempt clear at 3.90 meters (12' 9.5") before missing at 4.00 meters. See the meet results section for more information.
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VT Signs Two Vaulters during Fall Signing Period
November 21, 2005. Blacksburg, VA. The Virginia Tech track and field program has announced the signing of pole vaulters Ashley Early and Jared Jodon to National Letters of Intent for the 2006-07 year.
Ashley Early, a senior at Western Albemarle High School in Charlottesville, Va., is a four-time All-American pole vaulter. She is a three-time Virginia AA state champion and the all-time Virginia prep record holder with her mark of 12 feet 6.25 inches set last season at the Virginia AA state track and field meet. Her state-record mark puts her as the No. 12 returning pole vaulter in the nation. See full story at hokiesports.com.
Jared Jodon is both a pole vaulter and the quarterback for Laurel Highlands Senior High in Uniontown, PA. He has a personal best of 16'0", one of the top prep marks in the Northeast United States. Jared is an outstanding athlete who has only recently started to focus on the pole vault. See full story at hokiesports.com.
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VT Vaulters Heading to Pole Vault Summit
The Virginia Tech pole vault squad (girls and guys) will head to Reno Nevada at the end of January 2006 for the annual Pole vault summit-- a gathering of pole vaulters of all ages and skill levels. If you have never been to the pole vault summit it is quite an event. Competitions occur simultaneously on about eight runways over several days involving hundreds of vaulters from grade school to elite levels. This will be the first trip to the summit by VT since Brian Hunter won the College vault in 2000.
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