Hokies men's team moves up to No. 7

BLACKSBURG – Following quality performances at the NCAA East Regional Preliminary Rounds, the previously ranked No. 13 men’s track & field team broke into the top-10 rankings as the No. 7 team in the country, as announced by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Tuesday in New Orleans.

Virginia Tech is the highest ranking of four ACC programs represented in the USTFCCCA’s top-25 with Virginia at No. 15, Syracuse at No. 17, and Clemson moving up 13 spots to No. 18. The Hokies received 138.59 points to top the ACC foes with 15th-ranked UVA at 103.42. Top-ranked Texas A&M has 37.55 points to lead the men’s track & field rankings.

A group of 10 Hokies on the men’s team qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships to spark the team’s jump in the polls. As a full team, Tech’s 12 national qualifiers is the third most in program history behind 16 participants in 2012 and 13 in 2010. Tomas Kruzliak was the first qualifier followed on the men’s side in the hammer throw. Tech’s pole vaulters cleaned up and will be sending four to the national meet. Throwers Matija Muhar and Marek Barta and middle distance runner Patrick Joseph punched their tickets to Eugene on day two. Neil Gourley and Thomas Curtin closed out the weekend strong for the Hokies as the final two qualifiers in the distance events.

Tech’s pole vaulters made school history, yet again, over the weekend. After finishing first through seventh at the ACC Championships, four Hokies qualified for the NCAA Championships - the largest group ever from a single event to advance to the Championships for Virginia Tech. ACC Champion Chris Uhle was the top qualifier for the Hokies, followed by Deakin Volz, Torben Laidig, and Brad Johnson. Johnson cleared 5.25 meters (17-2.75) while Uhle, Volz, and Laidig topped 5.30 meters (17-4.5) to qualify for the national meet. The Hokies will represent the largest group in the pole vault in Eugene, followed by Texas A&M with three and both Texas and Air Force with two apiece.

The Hokies travel to the outdoor National Championships June 8-11.

Read the USTFCCCA’s full release here.