BLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech men's and women's track and field teams start the 2019 indoor campaign at the Virginia Tech Invitational in the newly renovated Rector Field House on Friday.
The two-day invitational will begin at 5 p.m. ET on Friday and will commence again Saturday at 11 a.m. Admission will be free for all fans, and parking is available in the lots surrounding Rector Field House.
The Hokies will be playing host to fellow ACC school Wake Forest along with 10 other well-known programs such as Radford, Charlotte, North Carolina A&T, Campbell, Norfolk State, VCU, UNC Greensboro, Winthrop, Towson and Roanoke College.
This year's team is the youngest that Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Dave Cianelli has ever had during his time at Tech. Forty percent of the student-athletes this year are either freshmen or newcomers and 68 percent of the student-athletes are underclassmen. Tomorrow will serve as an excellent test to see how this team will compete in the 2019 season.
During the last time Tech served as host for the Virginia Tech Invitational, several underclassmen took the opportunity to stand out. On the women's side, Arlicia Bush claimed first in the 500 meters with a time of 1 minute, 14.09 seconds, Rachel Pocratsky did the same, taking first in the 1,000 with a time of 2:50.00, and Eszter Bajnok earned first in the triple jump with a mark of 12.52 meters (41 feet, 1 inch). On the men's side, Michael Davenport finished first in the 300-meter dash with a time of 34.03 seconds.
This will be the first of four regular-season indoor meets held at Rector Field House, including the ACC Indoor Championships in late February.
