JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A trio of VCU throwers concluded an outstanding 2015 outdoor season at the NCAA East Region First Round this week. 

"This meet is a very high pressure situation. It takes a lot of concentration to be at your best because the pressure will pull your flaws out of you," said assistant coach Ethan Tussing. "Brandon and Ryan have had a lot of experience and came in and performed to their normal level. In Brandon's case that was good enough to beat a lot of throwers who came in seeded higher. Denise, as a freshman, was in the toughest meet of her life. Both of our previous women in the disc fouled out here their first time too. They were both juniors though at that point, which puts Denise ahead of the curve."

For the second consecutive year, senior Brandon Ruffin entered the circle in Jacksonville in the shot put. He entered the East Prelims ranked 37th after setting a new school record of 17.87 meters. Ruffin finished 24th in the prelims with a throw of 17.79.

Teammate Ryan Coles became the first male discus thrower to reach the NCAA East Prelims are logging a season-best of 53.85. The senior recorded a throw of 51.31 meters to finish 40th. Coles and Ruffin were the first teammates to reach the NCAA postseason in consecutive seasons since 2008 when James Frierson and Davion Lambert accomplished the feat. 

Denise O'Rourke was the first ever freshman thrower to reach the postseason and entered the competitve prelims ranked 37th in the discus after recording a season-best mark of 49.61 meters. This was the fifth straight year that a female discus thrower reached the East Prelims, following three consecutive appearances from former VCU All-American Jaleesa Williams and Julia Anyaugo's appearance in 2011.