Hokie ClubNEW ORLEANS, La. – Fresh off its first ever Atlantic Coast Conference outdoor championship, the Virginia Tech men’s track & field team moved up five spots to No. 17 nationally, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced Tuesday in its week four outdoor computer rankings.
On Saturday, the Hokies captured their first ever ACC outdoor crown as they held off seven-time defending champion Florida State by 4.5 points at the ACC Outdoor Track & Field Championship in Charlottesville, Va. The Tech men had five individual ACC champions in Will Mulherin (5000 meters), Jason Cusack (3000 meter steeplechase), Hunter Hall (pole vault), Alexander Ziegler (hammer throw) and Matthias Treff (javelin throw). Treff and Mulherin became three-time ACC Outdoor champions in their event and Treff set an ACC meet record.
In addition, Darrell Wesh (100 meters), Keith Ricks (200 meters), Michael Hammond (1500 meters), Chris Walizer (1500 meters), Joe Davis (pole vault), Mike Miller (pole vault), Jeff Artis-Gray (long jump), Hasheem Halim (triple jump) and Denis Mahmic (hammer throw) earned top-3 finishes, giving Tech a total of 14 All-ACC performers on the men’s side.
Ricks (100 meters) and the second place 4x100 meter relay of Artis-Gray, Wesh, Jonathan McCants and Ricks set school records. The Hokies continue to be the top ranked men’s team in the Southeast Region.
The women also fared well at the ACC Meet as they tied for fourth place and had two individual champions in Martina Schultze (pole vault) and Annjulie Vester (hammer throw). Yvonne Amegashie (400 meters), Victoria von Eynatten (pole vault) and Valentina Muzaric (shot put) also earned All-ACC accolades. Schultze and Sammy Dow (3000 meter steeplechase) both reset their own Tech records at Lannigan Field on Friday.
The Hokies have a busy weekend upcoming as they split between the historic Penn Relays, the nearby Radford Highlander Invitational and two meets in California - Cal’s Brutus Hamilton Invitational and Stanford’s Payton Jordan Invitational.