BIRMINGHAM – The women's Virginia Tech track and field teams led by Rachel Baxter, Sarah Edwards and Rachel Pocratsky finished 15th as they turned in 12 points at the NCAA Indoor National Championships inside the Birmingham CrossPlex Saturday evening.
"I think the group did really well," director of track and field and cross country Dave Cianelli said. "It was unfortunate in Jacory's (Patterson) case that he fell, but that's indoor track, and I think he'll learn from it and motivate him for the outdoor season. The women finishing up 15th was certainly the high point with all three women placing in the mile, 800 and pole vault. It was a really strong ending to the season and now we're looking forward to getting ready for outdoors."
Pocratsky, who won the 800 at the ACC Indoor Championships two weeks ago, collected a bronze medal in the event by crossing the finish line with a time of 2 minutes, 04.04 seconds, as she earned first-team All-America honors.
"Rachel ran a great race, and to be that close to a national championship is special," Tech distance coach Eric Johannigmeier said. "She had a great close in a tactical race. Third place is her highest finish at an NCAA Championship and we are very proud."
(3/9/2019) 2019 NCAA INDOOR TRACK & FIELD MEET
Edwards got out to a great start as she led the pack for the first half of the mile, but a strong push from her fellow competitors saw her finish sixth with a time of 4:38.68. With her time in the mile, the Junior earned first-team All-America honors for the first time of her career.
"For Sarah, to show that type of fearlessness and lead a good part of the race, and go with the leaders when the move was made, was really exciting to see," coach Johannigmeier said. "It was her first performance as a first team individual All American and I am so excited for what's in store for outdoors."
A year after finishing 11th in the pole vault, Baxter tallied a sixth-place finish with a mark of 4.41 meters (14 feet, 5.5 inches) to earn her first-team All-America. It marked the sophomores' first time earning first-team status during the indoor season.
"Both the men's and the women's pole vault at this year's NCAA championships were outstanding events," pole vault coach Bob Phillips said. "The best ever by many measures, so it was great to see both Virginia Tech vaulters earn All-America honors. But I know they both want to jump higher at the outdoor championships so we will get right back to work next week."
On the weekend, the Hokies earned 10 All-America honors with three student-athletes being named to the first team and seven to the second team.
UP NEXT
The NCAA Championships were the final event of the 2019 indoor season before transitioning to the outdoor season on March 22-23 with the Florida State Relays (Tallahassee, Fla.), Vanderbilt Black & Gold Invitational (Nashville, Tenn.) and the Winthrop Invitational (Rock Hill, S.C.).
MEDAL WINNERS
FIRST TEAM ALL-AMERICANS
Sarah Edwards, mile
Rachel Pocratsky, 800, bronze
Rachel Baxter, pole vault
SECOND TEAM ALL-AMERICANS
Bashir Mosavel-Lo, 800
Deakin Volz, pole vault
Shannon Quinn, DMR
Arlicia Bush, DMR
Catherine Stone, DMR
Sara Freix, DMR
(NCAA DAY ONE)
BIRMINGHAM – All-America honors by Deakin Volz and Bashir Mosavel-Lo and qualifying performances by Sarah Edwards and Rachel Pocratsky highlighted the first day of the NCAA Indoor Championships for the Virginia Tech track and field teams.
Edwards started the day for the middle distance group, as the junior finished third overall in the mile with her time of 4 minutes, 36.63 seconds to qualify for Saturday's final. Pocratsky also advanced to Saturday's final in the 800-meter race, running a time of 2:06.75 to place seventh.
Mosavel-Lo represented the Hokies' distance group on the men's side and did not disappoint. The Richmond, Virginia native finished sixth in his heat with a personal-best time of 1:48.70, but fell just short of qualifying for the finals, as Mississippi State's Marco Arop bested him by four-thousands of a second (1:48.66) to claim the final spot.
In the pole vault, Volz placed 12th with a mark of 5.53 meters (18 feet, 1.75 inches), earning second team All-America honors. It marked the fourth straight year that the Bloomington, Indiana native earned indoor All-America status in the pole vault.
The women's distance medley relay team of Shannon Quinn, Arlicia Bush, Catherine Stone and Sara Freix ran a time of 11:27.12 to finish 10th in the event, as they all earned second-team All-America honors.
Jacory Patterson, the only individual sprinter at the NCAA meet for the Hokies, got out to a fast start in the 400-meter dash, but contact with another runner with 100 meters to go unfortunately caused Patterson to fall to the track. He was unable to finish his race.
REMAINING WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Sat. | NCAAs | 1 p.m. ET | Live Results | Live Stream
UP NEXT
The Hokies will return to action for the second day of the NCAA Indoor Championships at the Birmingham CrossPlex. Pocratsky (800) and Edwards (mile) will run in the finals, while Rachel Baxter will be representing the Hokies in the pole vault.
PERSONAL BESTS
Men's 800
Bashir Mosavel-Lo (1:48.70)