BLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech's track and field squads are geared up to take on the country this weekend as they travel to Birmingham, Ala. to compete in the 2022 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships. The Hokies' 11 entries to the national meet are the most of any ACC school, as Tech chases national honors Friday March 11 and Saturday March 12.
Action begins for the Hokies Friday morning at 11 AM as Jake Spotswood competes in the heptathlon, before Alexios Prodanas, Rebecca Mammel, and Sara Killinen contest the men's and women's weight throw. Rachel Baxter and Julia Fixsen take on the pole vault at 7:45 PM, then Lindsey Butler runs in the semifinals of the women's 800m at 8:45 PM. Friday's competition finishes with the women's distance medley relay at 9:45 PM.
Saturday will see the completion of the heptathlon for Spotswood starting at 11:30 AM, before Chauncey Chambers competes in the men's triple jump at 4:45 PM. Antonio Lopez Segura will contest the 3,000m at 6 PM, then Victoria Gorlova competes in the women's triple jump at 7:45 PM, and the women's 800m final closes out the Hokies' championships at 8:30 PM.
The two-day national meet will be hosted by UAB and the city of Birmingham, Ala. at the Birmingham CrossPlex. Tickets are available for purchase through the NCAA and at the venue. Broadcasts for each day of competition will be available at ESPN3 and live results will be provided by Flash Results.
In the most recent edition of the USTFCCCA Track and Field Rankings Index, Virginia Tech's women's team ranked 6th in the nation for the second week in a row, the highest ranking for the Hokies' women since 2008.
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
Fri. | NCAA Indoor Championships | 11 AM | Live Results | Schedule | ESPN3
Sat. | NCAA Indoor Championships | 11:30 AM | Live Results | Schedule | ESPN3
ATHLETES TO WATCH
At the ACC Indoor Championships, Rachel Baxter claimed a fourth-consecutive indoor pole vault title, becoming the first vaulter in the conference's history to win four straight championships. Her winning height of 4.61m (15' 1.5") set a new all-time ACC record and earns her the No. 1 seed heading into the NCAA Championships. The five-time All-American now ranks as the No. 5 performer in NCAA history and is the only women's vaulter to clear 15 feet this year as she vaults for a national title this weekend.
Lindsey Butler defended her ACC indoor 800m title with an NCAA-leading time of 2:01.23, earning her the top seed at this weekend's national meet. Just .02 seconds off of the ACC record, Butler's time makes her the No. 9 performer in collegiate history as she heads into the national meet eyeing an even faster result and a national championship.
Joining Baxter on the pole vault runway this weekend is Julia Fixsen, whose season's best height of 4.48m (14' 8.25") earns her the No. 3 seed at the NCAA Championships. Fixsen earned All-American honors indoors in 2021 with Georgia, and the junior is set to compete at the top of the collegiate pole vault world again this weekend.
Rebecca Mammel and Sara Killinen earned gold and silver in the women's weight throw at the ACC Championships, and the duo eyes national honors and big marks this weekend. Mammel holds the No. 6 seed after she broke the ACC Championships meet record and Virginia Tech school record with her title-winning throw of 23.08m (75' 8.75"), just 23 centimeters away from the ACC record. Killinen smashed her own Finland national record with a heave of 22.21m (72' 10.5"), earning her the No. 14 seed at this weekend's championships.
The Hokies earned two entries in the triple jump competitions this weekend, as Victoria Gorlova and Chauncey Chambers earned their shot at national honors. Gorlova won the women's triple jump at the ACC Championships and earned Women's Field MVP at the meet, bringing in a season's best of 13.63m (44' 8.75") for the No. 7 seed in Birmingham. Chambers earned silver at ACCs with a lifetime best leap of 16.29m (53' 5.5") and ranks No. 9 heading into the NCAA Championships.
Three more Hokies that earned first team All-ACC with their silver medal performances will compete at the NCAA Championships, as Jake Spotswood brings the No. 7-ranked heptathlon performance into the national meet, his point total of 5,835 at the ACC meet breaking his own school record. Antonio Lopez Segura contests the 3,000m this Saturday as the No. 9-seeded performer, his time of 7:43.64 that he ran at the JDL Fast Track ranked as the No. 3 indoor Spanish 3,000m this year. Alexios Prodanas brings the number of Hokies weight throwers at the national meet to three, as he earned a spot in the NCAA Championships with his lifetime-best throw of 22.12m (72' 7") at the ACC meet.
In the women's distance medley relay, the Hokies bring the No. 2-ranked time this season to the NCAA Championships. The team of Leigha Torino, Star Price, Hannah Ballowe, and Lindsey Butler set the second-fastest time of the year in the NCAA at the JDL DMR Invitational when they broke the facility record and ran a converted 10:53.21. At the ACC Championships, they ran away with the conference title, smashing the conference meet record and Rector Field House record going 10:53.75, the No. 2 performance in ACC history, behind the Hokies' time from 2018.
Tech track & field is ready to create some fireworks in Birmingham this weekend, as the Hokies' athletes all compete for national titles and All-American honors.
ESPN3 BROADCAST LINKS
Friday 3/11 – 11 AM – http://vthoki.es/3Y4sk
Friday 3/11 – 5 PM – http://vthoki.es/v0fWt
Friday 3/11 – 8 PM – http://vthoki.es/9lqg0
Saturday 3/12 – 11:30 AM – http://vthoki.es/5Rreu
Saturday 3/12 – 5 PM – http://vthoki.es/5hX0Q
Saturday 3/12 – 8 PM – http://vthoki.es/AN9kf