Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 10 No. 3 | January 2018

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is very, very dedicated. The key on this level
is staying healthy, and if everything goes as
planned, she is going to be a big impact in the
ACC this year. Kennedy Dennis is going to be
a major impact as well. She is a tremendous
starter. They go head-to-head at practice all
the time, and I love it because it is bringing
out the best of them.”
MEN’S THROWS
TOP RETURNERS
Marek Barta, Collin McKenny, Matija Muhar,
Matthew Reinhart
NEWCOMERS
N/A
OVERVIEW
This small group of men’s throwers may not
provide a lot in the way of scoring during the
indoor season for new throws coach Andrew
Dubs—none of these young men specialize in
any indoor event—but the group figures to help
the Hokies’ chances during the outdoor season.
Barta leads the way after winning a silver medal
in the discus at the ACC Outdoor Track and
Field Championships last May and earning
second-team All-America honors at the NCAA
Championships. The senior, who holds the
school record in the event (201 feet, 4 inches), is
a two-time ACC silver medalist and a two-time
All-American. Muhar, coming off a redshirt
season because of a shoulder injury, won the
ACC crown in the javelin in 2016 and hopes to
return to that form this spring. Reinhart finished
fourth in the javelin last spring at the ACC
outdoor meet, so he, too, is a threat. McKenny
competes in the discus, along with Barta.
THROWS COACH ANDREW DUB’S TAKE
“The throws group here at Virginia Tech
is no secret—the history that is here and the
success the group had last year and before.
Coming into it, I was excited because of the
talent that’s here and the opportunities I
would have to work with each of the student-
athletes. It has just been fantastic and has
lived up to the expectations that I thought it
would be. I think we are setting up really well
so far from what they have done last year to
what I think we can do this year.”
WOMEN’S THROWS
TOP RETURNERS
Pavla Kuklova, Emma Thor, Kajsa Wennberg
NEWCOMER
Lindsay Herra
OVERVIEW
Tech’s staff expects big things out of this
group after both Thor and Kuklova earned
All-America honors in the hammer throw
during the outdoor season in 2017. Thor was
a first-team-All-American as a freshman who
also finished third at the ACC Championships.
Kuklova earned second-team All-America
honors as a sophomore after setting a personal
best with a toss of 63.45 meters (208 feet, 2
inches), and she won a silver medal at the ACC
outdoor meet. Wennberg possesses potential
as well, as she came in eighth in the hammer
throw at the ACC meet as a freshman. Herra
transferred to Tech from Iowa, where Dubs
used to coach. She competes in the discus and
javelin and could score points for the Hokies
in the weight throw during the indoor season
as well.
THROWS COACH ANDREW DUB’S TAKE
“There are several returners who went to
the national championships last year and
got All-America honors. So obviously, the
expectation for those student-athletes is to get
back and try to finish higher than they did last
year. But we have some other student-athletes
on the team as well who have a lot of potential.
We have had a lot of conversations about what
some of their goals are individually, and they
have set a high bar. I think the work they have
put in so far has shown that they are going to
achieve those goals.”
season preview track & field