Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 10 No. 5 | May 2018

36 Inside Hokie Sports and forth in the same events. But training with her and seeing that she was always pushing the pace, always out in front, always trying to get better, was always really good to have. Now that she’s gone, I realize that I have to make that for myself, but because I was able to see her example, I know where I need to be.” Pocratsky took the baton from Green this winter and delivered, easily winning the gold medal in the 800-meter run at the ACC Indoor Track and Field Championships in February—the first gold medal of her career. She qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in March and brought home her first All-America honor, finishing sixth in the 800. Roughly two months after that event, she went all Green in her summarization of the race. In other words, she wasn’t satisfied because she didn’t take home the gold. “Honestly, it was disappointing,” she said. “I was hoping to place higher, but I got boxed in from the beginning—but definitely still exciting because I had never gotten to race at the national level because of bad circumstances, I guess. One bad race is all it takes. “But definitely gratifying to race against all those girls that perform at such a high level and getting to talk to them and meet them and getting a chance to run on a stage that most people don’t get a chance to do is pretty cool. I’m definitely looking forward to more of those.” Hopefully, more of those come in June when the NCAA holds its outdoor track and field championships in Eugene, Oregon. It’s there—the mecca of track and field—where she wants to continue the Hokies’ legacy in distance running. Thomas has coached more than 30 All-Americans since arriving at Tech with Cianelli back in 2001. He guided the distance medley relay team of Vincent Ciattei, Greg Chiles, Patrick Joseph and Neil Gourley to the national title this past March—the Hokies’ first national championship in distance running. Could Pocratsky continue the trend and provide Tech with its first individual national title in distance running? “She’s had a pretty amazing ascent in 2.5 years,” Thomas admitted. “She’s a late bloomer physically, but I’mmost impressed with her mental toughness. She’s tough and unafraid as a racer. She’s also had a year and a half of consistency in training, too. She came in having done very little training in high school and kind of afraid to train too hard. Now she’s a very confident racer, and nobody outworks her in workouts. GETTING TO KNOW … RACHEL POCRATSKY Q: What would be your dream vacation and why? RP: Probably Australia. I love the beach. I’ve always loved it, and I’m not the person who is going to be on the beach tanning all day. I’m the one who’s in the water for the majority of the time. I’ve just always liked it, and Australia is beautiful. There is so much there. I would love that. I’d love to go scuba diving and see the coral reefs and all that, but also the area and all the different animals. It’s really cool. Q: If you could play any other sport, it would be which one, and why? RP: Probably gymnastics. It’s insane what they’re able to do. I know people obsess over it only during the Olympics for the most part, but if I could do the kind of flips and things that they do on any day I wanted to just because I was excited or something, that would be pretty cool. Q: If I could live anywhere, it would be … RP: Probably California. I’ve heard a lot about San Diego, but I don’t know that I’dwant to live in the city necessarily. If there were some place like San Francisco that was maybe a little warmer, that would be ideal. I’ve heard Santa Barbara is beautiful. I guess I like the West Coast. Q: If you could trade places with someone, who would it be and why? RP: Maybe Taylor Swift. Her past CD, when it came out, I played it on repeat for five days straight. It was during finals this past semester, and it was what was keeping me going. She’s also just a really cool person it sounds like. Q: I chose Virginia Tech because … RP: This place is so welcoming, and I saw a lot of opportunity here. When you go to Virginia Tech, pretty much anywhere we go for a track meet, there is always someone saying, ‘Go Hokies!’ There is always a connection somewhere it seems like, and that’s such a huge resource that I knew I’d be able to use throughout the rest of my life. RUNNING Continued from page 35 , C.E.C. www.Pro f es s i See our vintage ! See our vintage Ad!