BLACKSBURG – Track is back this weekend, as the Virginia Tech track and field squads will welcome 10 schools to Rector Field House for the Virginia Tech Invitational this Friday and Saturday.
Action begins at 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 14 and will resume at 11 a.m. Saturday. The two-day meet will not be broadcast, however, live results will be provided by Flash Results.
Admission and parking are both free for spectators. For those attending, please read Virginia Tech Athletics' new vaccination announcement and comply with all COVID-19 related policies.
The Hokies will be joined by 11 other programs this weekend, including five ACC schools (Duke, North Carolina, NC State, Syracuse, and Virginia), Tennessee, Army, UNC Charlotte, High Point, Liberty, and VCU.
Both men's and women's squads for the Hokies featured heavily in the USTFCCCA national and regional polls last season, and Tech returns 22 All-ACC athletes and 11 All-Americans for this season. The first USTFCCCA rankings of the season are expected to be released on Jan. 24.
Tech Director of Track and Field Dave Cianelli, the reigning ACC Indoor Coach of the Year on the men's side, enters his 21st season in Blacksburg.
MEET INFORMATION
Fri. | VT Invite | 5 p.m. ET | Live Results | Event Schedule | Heat Sheets (coming soon)
Sat. | VT Invite | 11 a.m. ET | Live Results | Event Schedule | Heat Sheets (coming soon)
ATHLETES TO WATCH
Four-time indoor All-American Rachel Baxter has her eyes set on history this season as she looks to become the first athlete in ACC history to win four consecutive indoor pole vault titles. The graduate student out of Orange, Calif. holds the school record at 14' 10.25" (4.53m) and has claimed the ACC crown each of the past three seasons, the first woman to do so in the conference.
With one of the most impressive outdoor seasons in Virginia Tech sprints history, Cole Beck looks to reach the next level indoors as well. At last year's ACC Indoor Championships, Beck placed fourth in the 200m and fifth in the 60m, and the Blacksburg native has his sights set on ACC titles this year to add to his 100m win outdoors last spring.
Fresh off her cross country success, Lindsey Butler hopes to add to an already stellar career on the track. The junior claimed the ACC 800m title indoors with a school record last March and earned first team All-American honors in the 800m both indoors and outdoors. Butler is poised to make a run on the conference and national stage in her signature mid-distance event.
Tyson Jones and Essence Henderson both saw meteoric rises last season indoors and outdoors. Jones and Henderson finished as runners up in the men's and women's shot put competitions at the ACC Indoor Championships, before they both claimed the titles outdoors and set new Virginia Tech records in the shot. Look to the two shot put specialists to lead a deep and talented Hokies throws group this year.
Several new faces to the Virginia Tech track and field team seem set to make instant impacts this season, including freshman Barbora Malíková. The Czech national champion and U20 record holder in the 400m joins the Hokies having represented her nation in the Tokyo Olympics this summer, and Hokie fans could be in for a thrill watching the international athlete compete.
LAST TIME OUT
At the 2021 NCAA Indoor Championships, the Hokies impressed with 11 All-American athletes earning 14th place (women) and T-16th place finishes in the team standings.
Tech's men's team ran away with the 2021 ACC Indoor Championship at Clemson, racking up 136 points to second-place North Carolina's 81, the largest margin of victory in the ACC's modern era.
