BLACKSBURG – On the second day of action in at the ACC Championships, the Virginia Tech track & field squads continued their blistering start and racked up several more ACC titles and team points ahead of Saturday's finals.
Friday's highlight came via Rachel Baxter, who finished out her ACC indoor vaulting career with even more dominance. Baxter broke the ACC indoor pole vault record by clearing 4.61m (15' 1.5"), winning the ACC title for the fourth-straight year. Having become the first woman to win three consecutive indoor titles in 2021, Baxter now stands alone as the only vaulter, man or woman, to be crowned ACC champion four indoor seasons straight.
"Rachel has been close to a breakthrough every meet this year, and it was great to see her realize that breakthrough tonight," Assistant Coach Bob Phillips said. "She is a super hard working young woman who has so many more big jumps ahead of her."
Baxter's vault takes over the top spot all-time in the ACC as she beats the previous record set by Duke's Megan Clark at 4.60m (15' 1") in 2016. Additionally, the grad student out of Orange, Calif. now holds the No. 5 mark all-time in the NCAA, the No. 10 best vault in the world this year, and takes the NCAA lead as the only collegian to clear 15 feet so far in 2022. As an aside, Friday night marked the first time Baxter had cleared 15 feet in her career, and she breaks her own school record that she set in 2020 by eight centimeters.
In addition to Baxter's fireworks, the Hokies claimed four more medals and two school records on Friday. Over in the women's weight throw, Rebecca Mammel shattered the ACC Championships record with a heave of 23.08m (75' 8.75") to earn her first ACC title. Having delivered consistently dominant performances all year, Mammel channeled her series of the season to set a new meet record, new school record, and move into No. 4 in the NCAA and No. 10 in the world this year. Additionally, Mammel became the first Hokie to ever throw over 23 meters in the women's weight throw.
Backing up Mammel and clinching a Hokies one-two in the women's weight throw was Sara Killinen, who also set a new lifetime best with her throw of 22.21m (72' 10.5"). Killinen, who already held the Finnish national record in the event, threw over 22 meters for the first time in her career and betters her previous best by 0.81 meters.
Wrapping up an exceptional two-day performance in the heptathlon was Jake Spotswood, who rounded out the competition with a school record total of 5,835 points for a silver medal. Spotswood breaks his own school record that he set just weeks ago and moves up into No. 5 in the NCAA.
In the men's weight throw, Alexios Prodanas punched in the performance of his life in the event, launching 22.12m (72' 7") for second. Prodanas moves into fifth all-time at Virginia Tech with his result and picked up eight crucial points for the Hokies.
On the track, Tech athletes clinched spots in nine event finals to set up a barnburner of a Saturday. Sam McLendon ran a PR of 7.80 seconds in the 60m hurdles, setting the No. 2 time in Virginia Tech history to advance. On the women's side, Layla Anderson advanced by delivering yet another PR with her time of 8.37 seconds, seventh-fastest in the Hokies' record book.
Both Ava Hassebrock and Ben Nibbelink advanced in the mile, with Hassebrock qualifying No. 4 overall in the women's prelims with a PR of 4:41.78, while Nibbelink moved onto the men's final with his time of 4:05.52.
Lindsey Butler and Hannah Ballowe finished as the top two qualifiers in the women's 800m, with Butler clocking 2:04.49 and Ballowe going more than two seconds under her previous PR with a 2:04.61.
In the men's 60m, Cole Beck ran the second-fastest qualifying time of 6.64 seconds to move onto tomorrow's final, then posted the top time in the prelims of the 200m, going 21.01 to advance. Joining Beck will be three other Hokies, as Torrence Walker (21.27) and Kahleje "KJ" Tillmon (21.30) locked out the top three qualifying times, and Kennedy Harrison advanced with his time of 21.33.
Harrison will also compete in the men's 400m, moving onto the final with a prelim time of 47.34. On the women's side, Barbora Malíková cruised to the No. 2 qualifying time in 53.97 seconds, picking up the No. 7 time in the Hokies' record book in her first collegiate 400m.
Both of Tech's teams sit in first place heading into the final day of competition, with the women boasting 47 points through two days and the men in first with 34. With an excellent Friday of competition in the books, the Hokies gear up to chase team titles on both sides.Gallery: (2-25-2022) T&F: 2022 ACC Indoor Championships Day 2