Hokie ClubEUGENE, Ore. – Two event groups rose to the occasion on Day 2 of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships for the No. 16 Virginia Tech women's track and field team, as the pole vault produced 10.5 points behind two freshmen and the hammer throw scored three at Hayward Field on Thursday.
The Hokies own the fifth-most points after the first day for the women, recording 13.5 points. No. 8 Stanford leads with 25 points.
Beginning the day with a bang in the early afternoon, junior Pavla Kuklova set a personal-best mark north of nine feet in the hammer throw to place sixth and earn first-team All-America honors. Her PR of 66.18 meters (217 feet, 1 inch) was the second-best throw in school history. Sophomore Emma Thor took 10th place in the hammer, tossing a mark of 62.83 meters (206 feet, 1 inch) to earn second-team All-America honors.
"I knew after ACCs, Pavla was going to be in good shape with the practices really starting to take off," throws coach Andrew Dubs commented. "I knew if she came in, stayed focused and did what she was capable of, she was going to be in good shape to hit a pretty big throw.
"For her 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, 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."
Freshmen Lisa Gunnarsson and Rachel Baxter both wrapped up their rookie campaigns on a high note, earning first-team All-America honors in the pole vault. Gunnarsson collected a bronze medal with a mark of 4.40 meters (14 feet, 5.25 inches) to place third and Baxter cleared a height of 4.30 meters (14 feet, 1.25 inches) to finish tied for fourth.
Two freshmen from the same school finishing in the top five in the pole vault at the outdoor national meet have never happened before since 1998, making Tech the first team to ever do so.
"Like yesterday, the winds were difficult to deal with but the girls made good adjustments to earn top-five spots and All-America honors," pole vault coach Bob Philips stated. "I'm proud of how all five vaulters competed at this championship and am excited for future things to come."
In the 1,500 meters, junior Rachel Pocratsky turned in the second-fastest time in her collegiate career with a time of 4 minutes, 10.80 seconds to place third in her heat and qualify for the finals.
Sophomores Sara Freix (10,000) and Laurie Barton (800) each earned All-America honorable mention in their respective events.
Day 3 of the championships meet will consist of the final day for the men, and redshirt senior Vincent Ciattei and junior Diego Zarate will be the lone Hokies on Friday competing on the men's side. The pair will go at it in the 1,500 meters.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Fri. | NCAAs | 8 p.m. ET | Live Results | Live Stream
Sat. | NCAAs | 6 p.m. ET | Live Results | Live Stream