BLACKSBURG – 2019 was another banner year for the Virginia Tech track and field program and there are several reasons to be just as excited for the 2020 indoor and outdoor seasons.
The Hokies earned two ACC titles, set numerous school records and return all but a handful of student-athletes.
Assistant coach Andrew Dubs, who oversees the throwing events, took some time to talk about his group and the upcoming season.
The returners for the group on the men's side are Tyson Jones, Matthew Reinhart and Isaiah Rogers. Rogers, a senior, won silver in shot put and weight throw at the Indoor ACC Championships, earning himself ACC Indoor Field MVP. At the ACC Outdoor Championships, Rogers once again won silver in the shot put and earned league honors as he finished fifth in the hammer throw.
On the women's side, the student-athletes coming back to Blacksburg are Pavla Kuklova, Emma Thor and Kajsa Wennberg. Kuklova and Thor became a part of NCAA history last year as they became only the fourth duo to each throw over 65 meters in the hammer throw during the same season.
The throws group welcomes one newcomer (Essence Henderson) on the women's side and two on the men's side (Carrington Kirby and Alexios Prodanas) this upcoming year.
Q: What are some of your takeaways from last season?
DUBS: "I thought last season was pretty successful, especially from a team standpoint. I thought both teams competed very well, the men and the women. From the throwers in particular, we did not accomplish all of our goals, but we accomplished a lot of them. I thought it was great to see the men's side contributing a lot more than we have in recent history. On the women's side, for Emma and Pavla to both throw 65 meters (hammer throw) and make some NCAA history was pretty exciting. I think it was only the fourth duo to ever do that. We had a great season. I thought it would have been nice to do a little bit better at the National Championships, but those are things that we can go back to the drawing board and improve upon for this year.
Q: Tyson Jones and Isaiah Rogers have continued to progress since joining this team last season. What is the ceiling for this duo?
DUBS: "It's tough to tell, it's still pretty early. We have some set goals that we will keep among ourselves, but the ceiling is high. They're training really well together. They train differently, just because of how each of them are as individuals. Tyson is a rotational thrower and Isaiah is a glider. Their bodies are also a little different so we treat them differently. It's exciting to see what those two will be able to do moving forward, especially this year with Alexios transferring in. I think the three of them are going to do some special things."
Q: What has you the most excited about this group heading into the season?
DUBS: "Just the overall potential. We have a combination of good young additions and good experienced veterans. The depth that we are going to have across the women and the men is going to be pretty difficult, in terms of outside competition. I'm excited about what our potential is across all of the events. I'm excited where we're going.
We're going to graduate a couple this year, but it's going to be a fun last year. And I think the exciting thing is beyond that. The potential future that we have with everyone we have coming back next year and the year after. It's a good balanced group across the board in events and depth."
Q: What is it like to have Rector Field House completely finished?
DUBS: "It's definitely very exciting. We had the facility pretty much finished last year and we were able to completely finish it over the summer. To have that resource at our disposal is going to prove to be beneficial for years to come. The flexibility we have logistically to lift and throw all in the same area – and the best part is it's right next to the track. We're still involved with the whole team. It's not like we're throwing off by ourselves in another building. To have everything at our disposable, we are very, very fortunate to have that. In my opinion, it's the best set up and facility in the country. There will be some more in the future, but for us this – it's just a great tribute to what this program has been in the past. What the administration has done to support this program, it's unmatched in many places.
The best thing is that we're able to adjust on the fly and that's really beneficial to the student-athletes. They have a difficult schedule with classes, exams, meetings and other things that they have outside of track and field. The flexibility to adjust and say 'that's not a problem because we have everything that we need right here for our team' is unmeasured."