BLACKSBURG – After finishing the 2016 season unranked, the Virginia Tech women’s track and field team will start the 2017 outdoor season in the top 25 of the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Preseason Indoor National Team Computer Rankings released on Tuesday afternoon.
Oregon enters as the preseason favorite, securing 345.06 points in the poll, with Kentucky (333.88) checking in second. Defending national champion Arkansas (293.38) and LSU (266.32) sit in third and fourth, respectively, followed by Southern California in fifth (248.20).
The Hokie women are one of three Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) teams ranked in the top 25. Florida State leads the pack at No. 10 with 174.59 points, while Miami checks in at No. 16 with 111.64 points. Virginia Tech comes in at No. 20 (100.37) for the first time since 2015.
The 2016 season, led by 16-year coach Dave Cianelli, saw the women’s squad finish ninth at the ACC Outdoor Championships and two of its athletes qualify for the NCAA Championships.
Of note, the national team computer rankings are compiled by a mathematical formula based on the NCAA Division I Descending Order Lists. Marks from previous seasons are included until enough data can be drawn from the current season. Current freshmen will not be included in the rankings until they compete in an outdoor meet.
Most recently, the women’s squad finished in eighth place at the ACC Indoor Championships. Hanna Green defended her title in the women’s 800-meter race for the third straight year, while Rachel Pocratsky and Courtney Blanden earned bronze-medal finishes at the three-day event. Green then went on to earn first-team All-America honors at NCAAs, finishing in second place and resetting her own program record in the 800 for the second time this season.
The Hokies open their 2017 campaign in three short days, as they travel to Columbia, South Carolina, for the Weems Baskins Invitational on March 24-25.