Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 10 No. 6 | June 2018

14 Inside Hokie Sports Twelve of the 14 Hokies who qualified earned All-America honors, and the women’s team recorded its second-best finish ever, while the men’s team ended up in the top 15 once again by Jimmy Robertson To get an indication of the current state of the Virginia Tech track and field programs, one only needs to consider this: Not even wind, rain, hail or cold can slow down this bunch. Performing in what, at times, could be generously described as miserable weather conditions, both Virginia Tech squads still managed to record top-15 finishes in the team race at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships held June 6-9 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. Of the 14 Tech athletes who qualified for the NCAA Championships, 12 earned All-America honors, including nine who earned first-team recognition. As a result, the Tech women’s team finished in 10th place, while the men’s team came in 15th. The performance marked the second-best finish ever by the women’s team, which came in fifth in 2010, and the men’s team finished in the top-15 for the seventh time since the school joined the ACC. “It’s really special to me to see how our programs performed here,” Tech director of track and field and cross country Dave Cianelli said. “Our men’s team finished in the top 15, and we came in ranked 30th. And our women’s team came in ranked 16th. To do what we did … you have to come through with your best effort, and we did that, so I’m really happy.” The women’s team finished with 21.5 points, with most of those coming from pole vaulters Lisa Gunnarsson and Rachel Baxter. The two freshmenfinished thirdand fourth, respectively, and earned first-teamAll-America honors. They also became the first freshman teammates ever to finish in the top five at the NCAA’s outdoor meet. Gunnarsson’s top vault of 4.40meters (14 feet, 5.25 inches) enabled her to bring home a bronze medal, while Baxter cleared 4.30 meters (14 feet, 1.25 inches) to place fourth. The Tech women also got points from middle distance star Rachel Pocratsky, rising standout jumper Eszter Bajnok and talented thrower Pavla Kuklova. Pocratsky, who has dominated all year—she had nine individual wins during the indoor and outdoor seasons—came in fifth in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4 minutes, 10.83 seconds. She finished just a little more than two seconds behind winner Jessica Hull of Oregon. Pocratsky felt disappointed afterward. Still, her performance during the outdoor season came on the heels on her showing during the indoor season in which she earned first-team All-America honors in the 800—the first All- America honors of her career. “Rachel came to Virginia Tech as a 5:17 miler and a 2:13 800-meter runner, and three years later, she’s bummed to be fifth at the NCAA Championships to four girls who all ran faster than 4:38 in high school,” Tech distance coach Ben Thomas said. “It’s crazy how far she’s come as an athlete and a competitor. Super proud of what she’s accomplished and excited for her future. She’s still so new to the 1,500, and she’s learned so much from this year. Next year should be special.” Competing during the worst of the weather, Bajnok kept her composure—and managed to break her school record in the triple jump. The sophomore from Kethely, Hungary, came in fifth with a top jump of 13.42 meters (44 feet, .5 inch), which snapped her previous school record of 13.39 meters (43 feet, 11.25 inches). She earned All-America honors for the first time in her career. “I cannot say enough about what Eszter showed me today,” jumps coach Paul Zalewski said. “She finished fifth after coming in 14th, did it in the rain, hail and cold and still pulled out a new school record. “She stepped up like the champion she is. To have a season like she had this year, with three ACC titles, a new lifetime best and a top- five national finish … I really don’t know what to say. And to think we have two more years to build on this is really exciting. So proud.” Kuklova, a junior from Opava, Czech Republic, recorded the second-best throw in school history when she threw 66.18 meters (217 feet, 1 inch) on her second throw to come in sixth. Sophomore thrower Emma Thor missed on qualifying for the finals, but still came in 10th with a top throw of 62.83 meters (206 feet, 1 inch) and earned second-team All- America honors. “For her [Kuklova] to throw 66 [meters], … I knew it was going to go pretty far on her second throw when I watched it out of her hand,” throws coach AndrewDubs said. “It just kind of kept hanging up there. Seeing her reaction was priceless. It was pretty special, just knowing the work she has put in and with me being new and her buying in from Day 1—and then having that pay off on the final meet of the season is just absolutely phenomenal.” Two other Tech female student-athletes earned honorable mention All-America honors in their respective events. Sara Freix, a sophomore, came in 19th in the 10,000-meter run, while Laurie Barton, also a sophomore, missed on making the finals in the 800. Both were making their first NCAA Outdoor Championships appearance. On the men’s side, the Hokies scored 17 points, with eight of them coming from talented distance runner Vincent Ciattei, who won a silver medal in the 1,500. The redshirt senior from Baltimore, Maryland started off strong by getting out ahead and leading the pace. He led the first two laps, and during the third lap, defending national champion Josh Kerr of New Mexico made his move and was neck and neck with Ciattei, as well as Ole Miss’ Robert Domanic. With 100 meters to go, it was a fight to the finish as Wisconsin’s Oliver Hoare, Kerr and Ciattei all kicked hard. With roughly 20 meters left, Hoare gained a step on the outside and Kerr had a slight edge on Ciattei, but the Hokie hit another gear at the end to edge Kerr by three one-thousandths of a second in a time of 3:45.02 seconds to finish in second place. “It was a beautiful run by Vince,” Thomas said. “He really couldn’t have played it any better. You know, that’s just the nature of the NCAA Championships sometimes. You beat TECH TRACK TEAMS STRONG AGAIN AT NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS Lisa Gunnarsson