Yvonne Amegashie | Junior | Woodbridge, Va.
No female combined to score more points at both the ACC Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Championships than junior sprinter Yvonne Amegashie, earning a total of 20 points and the magazine’s athlete of the year honor for women’s track and field in the process.
She began the year by placing fifth in the 400-meter dash at the ACC Indoor Championships in a season-best time of 55.09 seconds, good for four points. She also ran the leadoff leg of the sixth-place finishing 4x400 meter relay team that gave the Hokies another three points, as Tech finished in fifth place as a team.
At the outdoor meet held at the University of Virginia, Amegashie earned her first All-ACC honors less than 30 minutes from her hometown of Woodbridge, Va. She qualified for the 400-meter final in a time of 54.55 seconds, but stopped the clock at 53.25 in the finals to finish second, worth eight team points. It was a personal-best time for the junior and the fastest time in the event by a Tech female since school record holder Queen Harrison posted a 52.88 in 2008.
As a team, the Hokies finished in a tie for fourth at the outdoor championships, with Amegashie helping the team to another five points as leadoff runner of the fourth-place finishing 4x400 meter relay.
