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Gourley, Joseph and Zarate lead the way in the middle distance
events. Gourley earned second-team All-America honors in the 1,500
during the outdoor season last spring and won a silver medal at the
ACC Championships in the same event. Zarate also excels in the 1,500,
having won a gold medal at the USA Junior Outdoor Championships
this past summer.
Joseph is a two-time All-American and two-time ACC champion.
He earned second-team All-America honors in the 800 during
the outdoor season and won silver in the same event at the ACC
Championships.
Any of this contingent is capable of scoring at an ACC meet—or even
winning.
DISTANCE COACH
BEN THOMAS’
TAKE
“Tommy Curtin is
irreplaceable. You can’t
replace Tommy Curtin.
He is arguably the best
distance runner we ever
had, but we also have
more pieces overall.
Guys
like
Andrew
Gaiser really stepped
up in the cross country
season, as well as Daniel
Jaskowak. They are
both coming off the best fall they’ve ever had. Hopefully, a combination
of individuals can replace some of the points we miss with Tommy
Curtin gone.
“[In middle distances], we have a lot of experience coming back.
We have Neil Gourley and Patrick Joseph. Transfer Drew Piazza has
competed at a high level coming from New Hampshire. He’s been to
the NCAA Indoor Championships before, so I think he will really boost
our efforts in the middle distance area as well.”
TOP RETURNERS
Hanna Green, Shannon Morton, Tessa Riley,
Abigail Motley, Katie Kennedy, Lauren Berman,
Rachel Pocratsky
NEWCOMERS
Laurie Barton, Sara Freix, Kayla Richardson,
Sarah Edwards
OVERVIEW
This season marks the final one for Green, a four-time All-American
and the school record holder in the 800. She won the gold medal in the
event at both ACC meets in 2016, earning All-America honors during
the indoor season.
She anchors a mix of seniors and underclassmen. Morton, Motley
and Riley, three seniors, bring experience, though Motley may take
a redshirt year. Morton earned second-team All-America honors in
the mile last winter and only has outdoor eligibility remaining. Riley
possesses talent, but injuries seem to crop up at inopportune times for
her. Hopefully, she stays healthy this spring and gives the Hokies some
points in the distance events.
Kennedy and Pocratsky will be ones to watch this season. Kennedy, a
junior, enjoyed a fantastic fall in which she earned All-NCAA Southeast
Region and All-ACC honors in cross country. Pocratsky, a sophomore,
earned All-ACC honors during both the indoor and outdoor seasons
last year, excelling at both the 800 and the 1,500.
The freshmen ran well during the cross country season, and the
coaches hope to see that carry over to the track. Overall, the group is
deeper than last year.
DISTANCE COACH
BEN THOMAS’
TAKE
“I see Hanna Green having a great year. She was No. 2 in the country
last year in the 800 meters for the indoor season. She’s looking good.
She’s overcome a few injury bugs that she had in the fall, but overall,
she has been training very well. She is in her last indoor and outdoor
season, so she is fired up and hoping to go after a national title.
“Freshmen Laurie Barton and Sarah Edwards are two really solid
newcomers that can give us some strength as well. Katie Kennedy just
came off her best cross country season ever. She has really stepped
up her game, and I think she definitely has a chance to help us in the
longer distances this track season. All those folks can really help us in
trying to get back to the top of the ACC.”
TOP RETURNERS
Torben Laidig, Brad Johnson,
Jeffrey Linta, James Steck,
Deakin Volz
NEWCOMER
Jaelyn Demory
OVERVIEW
This group claimed the top seven spots at last spring’s ACC Outdoor
Championships, paced by Chris Uhle’s gold medal. Uhle graduated, but
the rest of the group returns and should provide the points needed for
the Hokies to be in the hunt for an ACC team crown at both the indoor
and outdoor meets.
Laidig and Volz lead the bunch. Laidig won a silver medal at the
NCAA Championships last June, while Volz set the school record in
winning the gold medal at the IAAF U20 World Championships in
Poland this past July.
The others are no less impressive. Johnson, the 2015 ACC outdoor
champion in the event, won a bronze medal at the league’s indoor meet
last February and then earned second-team All-America honors at the
NCAA’s outdoor meet. Linta finished fourth at the ACC’s outdoor meet,
while Steck finished in the top six at both ACC events.
The expectations are high for this group—and they should be. No
other program in the ACC boasts the talent and depth of the Hokies in
this event.
POLE VAULT COACH
BOB PHILLIPS’
TAKE
“We have three All-
Americans in Torben
Laidig, Deakin Volz and
Brad Johnson. Torben
and Brad have been
conference champions,
and Deakin was just
a freshman last year
who medaled at the
conference
outdoor
meet and went on to
have an outstanding
summer season. He won the U20 World Championships in Poland, so
those guys are going to contribute a lot to the leadership of the team.
With the quality of athletes that we have coming back, I really think
that they can accomplish some really great things this year.”
TOP RETURNERS
Erica Hjerpe, Kristen Lee,
Hannah Meador,
Olivia Privitera,
NEWCOMERS
None
OVERVIEW
The women’s squad lacks the depth of the Hokies’ male counterparts
in this discipline, particularly after Erinn Schaal and Emma King—two
point scorers at the ACC’s outdoor meet—departed. But that doesn’t
mean the Hokies plan on throwing away points in the pole vault, as
three of the four returners scored points at the ACC’s meets.
Meador, a junior, recorded the team’s highest finish in the event,
coming in sixth at the ACC outdoor meet last spring. She also finished
eighth at the league’s indoor meet, and one would expect her to take the
next step in her development.
The same applies to Hjerpe, who came in seventh at the league’s
indoor meet, but injuries limited her during the outdoor season. If she
remains healthy, she could contend for a medal at either league meet
this season.
Privitera placed eighth at the league’s outdoor meet in the spring,
while Bell adds depth and hopefully develops into a vaulter with an
ability to score points at the ACC meets.
WOMEN’S
DISTANCE
MEN’S
POLE
VAULT
WOMEN’S
POLE
VAULT
season preview
track & field
Continued on page 32
