Blacksburg – After another excellent season for the Virginia Tech track and field program, the Hokies enter the 2019 season with great excitement for the indoor and outdoor seasons.
Tech begins its 2019 campaign this week, as they host the Virginia Tech Invitational on Jan. 11-12, at the newly renovated Rector Field House.
We took the time to sit down with head cross country and distance coach Eric Johannigmeier to get his thoughts on his group for the upcoming season.
Assistant coach Jason Cusack enters his first season assisting the cross-country and distance group. Cusack, who ran for Tech's track and field cross country teams, was a two-time medal winner in the steeplechase, which includes a gold medal in the 2012 ACC Outdoor Championships.
Q: This year's distance group has a solid mix of returners and newcomers. How will the depth of this group help in the long run?
JOHANNIGMEIER: "I think depth is extremely important at the ACC indoor and outdoor, as well as the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships. There are five different distance events in the indoor season. There is the 800, mile, 3K, 5K and the DMR [Distance Medley Relay]. In the outdoor season there is the 800, 1,500, 5K, steeplechase and the 10K. We try to score in all of the events. it's important that we have our heavy hitters on both men's and women's side scoring in those events, but it is also important to have the people coming on become those heavy hitters and scorers. If we want to be successful as a team we need to be focusing on all of the events and all of the areas. We need to have people that are interchangeable in those events and areas. I think depth is extremely important and I think that we have a good group this year that really covers all of the events and contribute in a big way for what we're trying to do at the championships."
Q: This group has a lost several talented seniors to graduation. Is there anyone who has stood as someone who will fill those roles?
JOHANNIGMEIER: "The seniors that we lost this year on the men's side were Patrick Joseph, Daniel Jaskowak, Neil Gourley, Vincent Ciattei and on the women's side we lost Katie Kennedy. They played a huge role in what we did as a program, just like all of the seniors before them. The great thing in our program is that everyone is always stepping up and filling that void and hopefully build on what that last class did, so I think we have a lot of people that are hungry and ready to fill those leadership roles and fill those contribution roles.
On the men's side, Peter Seufer had an excellent cross-country season and I think he's really hungry to have his best track season. Diego Zarate has been a big player for us in the mile and 1,500. He was also kind of finishing in the shadows of Ciattei and Gourley, but I think he's ready to take the role of leading those events. Bashir Mosavel-Lo had a great fall and he had a really nice freshmen campaign. Thierry Siewe Yanga had a really good training block this fall and he was on an ACC Championship DMR as a freshman, so I'm really looking forward to that. We added Matthew Harding in the middle distances as a transfer, which is exciting. Owen Buck scored last year and I'm looking for him to step up. Jack Joyce and Fitsum Seyoum were big scorers for us last year both indoor and outdoor. I'm really hoping that what they did this fall can build to a good track season. We have a good sophomore and freshman class that I think had good training this fall and raced more competitively than they ever had in cross country. They trained better than they ever had, so I'm looking for some of those guys to step up."
On the women's side, Sara Freix had a great cross-country season with just missing nationals as an individual. She made nationals last year at outdoors in the 10K. I think she's really motivated to continue that success and building on that. Rachel Pocratsky had her best cross-country season ever and coming off ACC outdoors where she was the champion in 800 and 1,500. It was something only her and Hannah [Green] had done in quite some time. I think she's really hungry to have a good senior campaign. Sarah Edwards really coming off last year in indoors where she anchored our DMR to an ACC meet record and an NCAA third place finish. Coming back in the 3K at ACCs to finish second, she's someone that's really competitive and ready to have a good indoor and outdoor season. Shannon Quinn is a senior who had a good fall for herself and as and ACC champion in the DMR last year she's really motivated to have a good senior campaign. Catherine Stone and Kayla Richardson are girls that had a really good fall and have been there before and I think they're really looking to step up. Lauren Berman had a really nice fall as well. Having scored last year outdoor at the ACC in the 5K, she's pretty motivated to keep building on that success. We have a lot of younger girls that maybe haven't scored at the ACC Championships, but it's now starting to become their turn. Whether it's making the ACC track meet for the first time, making that final, making that fast heat and eventually scoring. I think we have a really good group of individuals that are ready to keep pressing and building on the success that we've had thanks to the seniors that left a tradition for us."
Q: What are your expectations for the season?
JOHANNIGMEIER: "It's going to be awesome hosting the ACC Championships in our new indoor facility. I know a lot of people have put a lot of work into it and making sure everything is going to be ready by then. We're really looking forward to having back at home. The first time since 2015. Last year we finished second on the men's and women's side at the indoor ACC Championships. I think at Virginia Tech, we've come to the point that every year, we're trying to be in the hunt to win that ACC title, and if we're going to be in the hunt, the distance group is going to have to play a substantial role in contributing to the team's score. I think really continuing to build and have that success in the distance events and win that ACC team title is going to be the goal both indoors and outdoors. It will be nice that the ACC Outdoor Championships are at Virginia. We should have really competitive teams, and I think the goal is looking at the team and what we can do as a team at the ACC Championships. If we have success at the ACC Championships, then that usually leads to success at the NCAA Championships. I'm really excited to see what happens."