BLACKSBURG – One gold, three silver and one bronze medal highlighted the weekend for former and current members of the Virginia Tech track and field teams.
The weekend kicked off with the Czech Republic Outdoor National Championships as alums Marek Barta (2018) Irena Sedia (2017) and current Hokie Pavla Kuklova all snagged medals.
Barta became the national champion in the discus throw with his top mark of 62.52 meters (205 feet, 1 inch), Sediva won silver with her throw of 57.56 meters (188 feet, 10 inches) and Kuklova finished third in the hammer throw with her best mark of 62.07 meters (203 feet, 7 inches).
The USA Track and Field Championships saw nine current and former student-athletes in competition in Rachel Baxter, Hanna Green, Kristi Castlin, Queen (Harrison) Claye, Rachel Pocratsky, Vincent Ciattei, Tommy Curtin, Willy Fink, Patrick Joseph, Drew Piazza and Deakin Volz.
The field events only saw vaulters Baxter and Volz. Baxter finished ninth with her vault of 4.40 meters (14 feet, 5.25 inches), while Volz tied for 13th with a leap of 5.46 meters (17 feet, 11 inches).
The sprinting events were headlined by two of the Hokies most decorated alumni in Castlin and Claye. Both made it to the 100-meter hurdles finals as Claye placed fifth with a time of 12.68 and Castlin ran a season best time of 12.86 to claim seventh.
The mid-distance group saw Green win silver in the 800 with a personal best time of 1:58.19 to lock up a bid in the IAAF World Championships in Doha, Qatar later this year, Setember 28 - October 6. Pocratsky (2:05.96) finished 13th in the women's 800, while Piazza (1:51.19) placed 15th on the men's side. The 1,500-meter duo of Joseph (3:43.84) and Ciattei (3:44.52) did not advance past the first round.
Fink, a volunteer coach for the distance group, finished ninth in the 5,000 with his time of 13:49.02 and 11th in the 10,000, clocking a time of 28:45.57. Former ACC champion Curtin was unable to finish the 5,000.
Eszter Bajnok, the Hokies all-time record holder in the indoor and outdoor long and triple jump won silver at the Hungarian National Championships with her mark of 13.20 meters (43 feet, 3.75 inches) in the triple.
