BLACKSBURG - Since taking over the reins as Virginia Tech's director of track and field and cross country back in 2001, 22nd-year head coach Dave Cianelli has since taken the Hokies to new heights both on the track and in the field.
Through 19 NCAA individual champions, four top-five finishes at the NCAA Track and Field Championships, and now 21 ACC team titles with Tech's runaway victory at the 2023 ACC Indoor Championships, Cianelli has slowly rebranded the maroon and orange into a national power, with the most recent trophy acquisition serving as the latest reminder.
There's much to recap and look back on when talking about 21 ACC team crowns, but eight in particular stand out above them all. All monumental for their own reasons, but all with equal significance.
First ACC Championship: 2007 Women's Indoor Title
Seeking just the school's second-ever ACC title to pair up with the Tech football team in 2004, the Virginia Tech women's track and field team turned in a dominating performance at the 2007 ACC Indoor Championships to claim Cianelli's first ACC crown steering the ship for the maroon and orange.
Led by individual champions Patrice Potts in the 60m dash, sophomore Brittany Pryor in the women's shot put, and veteran Erin Mahony winning the women's pole vault, the Hokies cruised passed the second-place Miami Hurricanes with ease securing a 136-99 victory down at Clemson's Rock Norman Track and Field Complex in upstate South Carolina.
First Outdoor Title: 2007 Women's Outdoor Championship
Looking to carry the momentum over from a successful indoor season that concluded with the program's first-ever ACC track and field championship, the women's track and field team showed it was no fluke when it captured the Hokies' first outdoor title nearly two months to the day in convincing fashion at Maryland's Kehoe Track and Ludwig Field.
Tech was paced by individual titlists Brittany Pryor in the shot put, Kristi Castlin in the 100m hurdles, Patrice Potts in the 100m dash and Sherlenia Green in the 400m hurdles. While Ashley Early won the pole vault and Tamara Burns secured the hammer throw to give the Hokies a total of six individual winners in the 144.5-113 route of second-place Miami.
First Men's Title: 2011 Men's Indoor Championship
Hoping to acquire the school's first-ever men's ACC title in its program history, the Virginia Tech men's track and field team left no doubt at the 2011 ACC Indoor Championships to seize Cianelli's fifth ACC crown and the first on the men's side of things inside Tech's Rector Fieldhouse.
The Hokies became the first hosting team to win the men's league title since 1979, and were steered by three individual titlists in the 140-98 drubbing of second-place Florida State. Sophomore Stephan Munz highlighted the trio by earning the gold in the men's pole vault, while Michael Hammond added his second consecutive men's mile title in the 32-point championship triumph.
First Men's Outdoor Title: 2012 Men's Outdoor Championship
Aiming for the program's first ACC outdoor title on the men's side of thing back in 2012, the Virginia Tech men's track and field team dethroned the seven-time defending champion Florida State at the 2012 ACC Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Virginia's Lannigan Field in Charlottesville with a nail-biting 153.5-149 dub.
The Hokies cleared the Seminoles by just a mere 4.5 points, but stood a whopping 40.5-point advantage over the third-place Cavaliers. Tech was guided by five individual champions in the historic victory, and got a major boost from the quartet of junior Jonathan McCants, junior Jeff Artis-Gray, senior Eric Hoepker and senior All-American Keith Ricks in the team-clinching 4x400 meter relay in the day's final event.
First Cross Country Title: 2012 Men's Cross Country Championship
Flash forward a few months later, and the Virginia Tech cross country team brought home their first-ever ACC title in a 55-49 defeat of second-place Virginia at Tech's Buford Meredith Cross Country Course in Blacksburg.
Redshirt senior Will Mulherin anchored the Hokies with the team's first individual championship in program history, and saw two more runners place in the top seven to help pilot Virginia Tech to the program's first conference championship in over 15 years.
Cianelli's 10th Overall Title: 2016 Men's Outdoor Championship
Reaching new heights after racking up nine conference championships in the Dave Cianelli era since joining the ACC back in 2004, the Tech men's track and field team helped the Hokies' big whistle reach double-digits with a comfortable 129-93 win over second-place NC State at Florida State's Mike Long Track during the 2016 ACC Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Senior Thomas Curtin led the way for the maroon and orange by winning the 10,000m run during the Friday portion of the week, and returned to track on the event's final day to secure a team-sealing 5,000m victory to help the Hokies coast with ease in the men's team's second-ever outdoor title since the school's inception into the league.
Largest Championship Victory In The Modern Era: 2021 Men's Indoor Title
After navigating through much of the unknown during the pandemic-riddled 2020-21 campaign, Virginia Tech men's track and field's perseverance paid off in the Hokies' 136-81 thumping of second-place North Carolina at the 2021 ACC Indoor Track and Field Championships at Clemson' Rock Norman Track and Field Complex.
The team's 55-point handling still serves as the largest margin of victory in the modern era of the ACC, and added a 17th conference title to an already extensive trophy cabinet that continues to be enhanced throughout Cianelli's reign.
An impressive seven Hokies medaled in gold over the course of the weekend, with Jacory Patterson, Bashir Mosavel-Lo, Antonio Lopez Segura, Tyler Leeser, Patrick Forrest, Dave Whitfield and Ben Nibbelink all contributing to the cause for yet another ACC crown for those suiting up in maroon and orange.
First Host School in ACC History to Win both the Men's and Women's Championship: 2022 Men's and Women's Indoor Title
Coming off a second-place finish at the 2022 ACC Outdoor Championships, the Hokie men were ready to defend their 2021 ACC indoor title. The men's substantial 105-72 lead over second-place Florida State left no doubt the Hokie men are the best in the ACC, as the team hosted the Indoor Championships. Sprinter Cole Beck scored 16 points for the Hokies finishing first in the 200-meters and third in the 60-meters dash.
The women's team tied for first with Duke scoring 86 points, runners Hannah Ballowe, Star Price, Leigha Torino, and Lindsey Butler added 10 points to the Hokies score finishing first in the distance medley relay. In the field, the Hokies claimed three conference titles with Rachel Baxter winning pole vault, Victoria Gorlova winning the triple jump, and Rebecca Mammel winning the weight throw.
Virginia Tech became the first host school in ACC history to win both the men's and women's conference titles.