Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG – Championship season returns to Blacksburg this weekend, as Virginia Tech track & field hosts the 2022 ACC Indoor Championships from Thursday, Feb. 24 to Saturday, Feb. 26 in Rector Field House.
The three-day conference meet begins at 11 AM on Thursday with the heptathlon and pentathlon, before the men's and women's distance medley relays kick off at 6 PM. On Friday, multi and field events begin at 10 AM before events on the track start at 12:45 PM. Saturday's finals start at noon on the field side, and track action resumes at 1 PM.
Admission and parking for the championships are free for spectators, with parking available in the Chicken Hill Lot and Lot 2. Live results will be provided by Flash Results, and ACCNX will provide live broadcasts both Friday and Saturday.
In the most recent edition of the USTFCCCA Track and Field Rankings Index, Virginia Tech's women's team ranked 9th in the nation, boasting the highest national ranking in the ACC for the second week in a row. In the ACC TFRI, Tech ranks first on the men's side and second on the women's side heading into the championships.
Tech Director of Track and Field Dave Cianelli, a fifteen-time ACC Coach of the Year, continues his 21st season at the helm in Blacksburg.
MEET INFORMATION
Thu. | ACC Indoor Championships | 11 AM | Live Results | Schedule | ACCNX
Fri. | ACC Indoor Championships | 10 AM | Live Results | Schedule | ACCNX
Sat. | ACC Indoor Championships | NOON | Live Results | Schedule | ACCNX
WHAT'S AT STAKE
The Hokies are chasing their seventh indoor men's title and fourth indoor women's title this weekend. Last time the ACC Indoor Championships came to Rector Field House was in 2019, when the men's team tied with Florida State to win the ACC crown. On the men's side, the Hokies are looking to defend their 2021 ACC title, and the women are aiming for their first conference championship since 2020.
ATHLETES TO WATCH
Rachel Baxter aims to make ACC history this weekend as she goes for her fourth-consecutive indoor pole vault title. Baxter has already become the first woman in ACC history to win three straight championships, and she looks to become the first man or woman to win four straight when she vaults on Friday.
Sprinters Cole Beck and Kennedy Harrison will lead the Hokies in the short distance events, with Harrison currently ranked first in the 200m and third in the 400m, and Beck seeded third in the 60m and second in the 200m.
In the women's 800m Lindsey Butler will look to repeat her indoor crown with the prelims first on Friday. Butler currently leads the ACC with her time of 2:03.61 and will hope to become the third Hokie to win consecutive indoor 800m titles since 2016.
Jake Spotswood competes in his first ACC Championship this weekend, as the school record holder in the heptathlon leads the conference this season. The two-day multi event will begin Thursday and conclude on Friday.
Throwers Rebecca Mammel, Sara Killinen, Essence Henderson, and Fiona Richards have their eyes set on big points for the Hokies this weekend. Mammel and Killinen hold the No. 2 and No. 4 marks in the weight throw this season, while Henderson and Richards are seeded No. 2 and No. 3 in the shot put.
On the jumping runways, Victoria Gorlova chases a long jump and triple jump double, currently leading the ACC in the triple and ranked No. 3 in the long jump. Chauncey Chambers holds the No. 4 triple jump in the ACC and will look to repeat on his strong performance at last year's indoor championships.
As the ACC Championships descend on Blacksburg, Virginia Tech track & field is positioned to make a run at a historic weekend, both on the men's and women's sides of the conference meet.