Hokie ClubNEW ORLEANS – Heading into the NCAA Indoor Championships this upcoming weekend, the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) released its rankings Sunday afternoon, with both sides of the Virginia Tech track and field teams earning the No. 12 spot.
The women remain the highest-ranked team from the ACC, while the men are the second highest only behind champion Florida State at No. 7. No. 13 Syracuse and No. 20 Clemson round out the ACC's four teams on the men's side. The Tigers are also No. 20 in the women's rankings and the Seminoles are No. 25.
Last week, the NCAA announced the qualifiers for the championships. The Hokies have eight individuals and two distance medley relays heading to the final meet of the indoor season.
On the women's side, Rachel Pocratsky will run the 800 meters and Rachel Baxter and Lisa Gunnarsson will jump in the pole vault. Pocratsky comes in with the fourth-fastest time in the country, Baxter with the 11th-best vault and Gunnarsson with the fifth best nationally.
Distance runners Vincent Ciattei, who earned the ACC Postgraduate Scholarship last week, Neil Gourley and Patrick Joseph, and pole vaulters Torben Laidig and Deakin Volz will make the trek to the Lone Star State.
The DMRs on Feb. 22 won gold at the ACC Indoor Championships on the campus of Clemson. The women, made up of Pocratsky, Arlicia Bush, Shannon Quinn and Sarah Edwards, ran a school-record time of 10:57.60, while the men, consisting of Daniel Jaskowak, Brandon Thomas, Thierry Siewe Yanga and Gourley, clocked a time of 9:38.31.
The women own 11 times and marks and the men have 15 times and marks that rank in the top 50 across the nation.
The NCAA Indoor Championships will be held on the campus of Texas A&M in College Station on March 9-10. The event will be streamed live on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app.