Hokie ClubCOLLEGE STATION – After eight weeks of indoor competition, 10 members of the Virginia Tech track and field teams will compete at the 2017 NCAA Track and Field Championships this weekend held at Texas A&M’s Gilliam Indoor Stadium in College Station, Texas.
Four distance runners, two pole vaulters and the men’s distance medley relay team qualified for this year’s championships. The semifinals for the running events will begin Friday afternoon, with the top eight times advancing to the finals on Saturday. Of note, the pole vaulters and the DMR team’s finals will take place Friday evening.
ESPN3 will stream the meet live from Texas A&M’s Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium Friday starting at 6:25 p.m. ET and Saturday starting at 4:55 p.m. ET. A re-air of the championship will take place on Sunday starting at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
In the men’s field events, the Hokies strong pole vaulting unit delivers once again with sophomore Deakin Volz holding the No. 2 spot in the nation, followed by redshirt junior Torben Laidig at No. 5. Volz, the U-20 world champion, reset the program and ACC record to 5.66 meters (18 ft., 6.75 in) at the Virginia Tech Challenge on Feb. 18. The Bloomington, Indiana, native also earned a silver-medal finish at the 2017 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Championships with a vault of 5.50 meters (18 ft., 5 in.). Laidig earned a season-best mark at the ACC Championships, jumping a height of 5.55 meters (18 ft., 2.5 in.). The Schwabish Hall, Germany, native claimed gold in the event and finished with an ACC Championship meet record.
Redshirt junior Patrick Joseph and senior Drew Piazza are ranked among the top-five men’s 800 seeds, as the Hokie duo went 1-2, respectively, in the event at the ACC Championships. Piazza had set the school record in the preliminary race the previous day, but Joseph broke it in the finals with a time of 1:46.23 – also good enough for an ACC Championship meet record. Joseph’s time ranks No. 2 nationally, while Piazza’s mark of 1:46.42 is tied for fourth overall on the national list.
Additionally, senior Neil Gourley cleared the qualifying mark in the mile at the Camel City Invitational on Feb. 4 with a time of 4:01.14. Of note, the Glasgow, Scotland, native ranks 11th in the nation heading into tonight’s semifinal race.
The men’s distance medley relay team also qualified for the event with a time of 9:31.15 set at the Music City Challenge on Feb. 10. The runners participating in this event will be determined later this evening.
Hanna Green, a senior from Latrobe, Pennsylvania, will represent the women’s side in the 800-meter run. Green, a three-time ACC champion in the event, recorded a career-best time of 2:02.28 at this year’s championships to rank fourth nationally. In addition to a new ACC Championship meet record, Green also reset her own program record of 2:03.18 set in the prelims at the 2015 NCAA Championships.
The NCAA Championships are the final event of the 2017 indoor season before transitioning to the outdoor season on March 24-25 at the Weems Baskins Invitational in Columbia, South Carolina.