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track & field spotlight
drew piazza
“I did some research on track results, and Virginia Tech names kept
popping up over and over,” Piazza said. “I’m like, ‘I’ve never heard of
these guys.’”
Piazza received his release from UNH, as per NCAA directives, and
then emailed coaches at Penn State, Oklahoma State, Virginia and the
Hokies. Thomas, at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
at the time, responded by telling Piazza to expect contact from assistant
Eric Johannigmeier.
The two hit it off, primarily because Piazza wanted to continue his
pursuit of a civil engineeringdegree, andJohannigmeierholds abachelor’s
and a master’s degree in the subject. That, combined with the Hokies’
success in track and field, resulted in Piazza moving to Blacksburg.
“It just seemed like the perfect match—and it is,” he said.
The decision and the move marked the latest in an interesting career
path. Piazza, who grew up in New Hampshire before moving with
his mom to Danvers, Massachusetts to be closer to her job in Boston,
played soccer as a kid and really wanted to pursue that at the Division
I level. He viewed track simply as conditioning to prep himself for the
soccer season.
Unfortunately, he received little Division I interest, but a couple of
schools pitched to him the idea of walking on to their respective track
teams. He decided to go that route with the intent of walking on to a
soccer team as well. UNH offered him the best opportunity of track,
soccer and engineering, so he decided to enroll there.
“I came on hoping to try out for the soccer team, and it just never
happened,” he said. “I don’t really know exactly why. In the back of my
head, I kind of wanted to run track because I knew I could improve. In
high school, I didn’t take it as seriously as I did soccer.
“As soon as I didn’t try out for soccer [in college], I knew I was going
to make it my goal to run fast in track.”
He went on to win five America East Conference championships, and
he finished ninth in the 800 last year at the NCAA Indoor Track and
Field Championships. Yet he aspired for more, which prompted him to
come 11 hours south to Blacksburg and join a nationally ranked men’s
program that won the ACC’s outdoor title last year and the league’s
indoor crown in February.
Normally, it takes time for transfers to acclimate themselves to
their surroundings, but this Northeastern young man quickly became
a Southerner at heart. His extroverted, fun-loving nature meshed
perfectly with Tech’s current team, which includes a bunch of dudes
who like to have a good time.
“They definitely push each other, but they also tend to get along really
well,” Thomas said. “When I first started talking to Drew, I instantly
T
his time, I think it’s anyone’s game.
There is definitely a possibility of one
of us getting a national title. It’s time.
Drew Piazza
on the possibility of him or
one of his teammates winning Tech’s first
national title in distance running.
“
”