After a vaulting battle that went back and forth between herself and Italy's Roberta Bruni, Rachel Baxter wrapped up her time at the World University games with a silver medal.
Baxter started the day in great form as she cleared four of her first five heights on the first attempt, one of which was her vault of 4.41 meters (14 feet, 5.5 inches) that earned her the silver medal. Baxter was neck and neck throughout the event with Italy's Bruni, but she was unable to clear 4.46 meters, while Bruni was able to do so on her final attempt.
"Rachel did fantastic", Tech vault coach Bob Phillips said. "After missing ACCs and NCAAs with an injury, this was a great return to competition. She is 100 percent healthy, but missed a lot of training. For her to jump this well on the training she was allowed to do the last month is a real testament to her competitive spirit."
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Pavla Kuklova will close out the World University Games for the Hokies with the women's hammer throw on Friday at 6:00 a.m. ET
(Day Three)
At the World University games on Wednesday, Pavla Kuklova was the only Hokie to make an appearance on the day as she represented the Czech Republic in the women's hammer throw.
Though not the best toss she has had so far this year, her throw of 62.92 meters (206 feet, 5 inches) was enough for her to finish seventh in the qualifying round and advance to the finals on Friday at 12:00 p.m. ET.
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Rachel Baxter will compete in the finals of the women's pole vault at 11:40 a.m. ET
(DAY TWO)
The second day of competition for track and field athletes at the World University Games saw Rachel Baxter, Rachel Pocratsky and Miles Green all compete for the United States.
Baxter started the day off with the pole vault and did not disappoint. Only the top-12 marks got the opportunity to advance and with her easy clearance of 4.00 meters (13 feet, 1.5 inches) Baxter locked up her spot in Thursday's finals.
In the 400-meter hurdles, Green finished fourth in his heat with a time of 51.29 second, but missed out on qualifying for the finals by five hundredths of a second.
Pocratsky participated in the final event of the day with a Hokie in competition. She ran a tough 800-meter race that saw her with the lead halfway through, but she was unable to hold on in the final 200 meters as she finished fifth in her heat with a time of 2 minutes, 6.14 seconds and missed qualifying for the finals.
UP Next
Thrower Pavla Kuklova will represent the Czech Republic in the women's hammer throw at 6:00 a.m. ET.
(DAY ONE)
On the first day of competition at the World University Games, Rachel Pocratsky represented Virginia Tech and the United States by advancing to Tuesday's semifinals in the 800-meter run.
Pocratsky started her post-collegiate career on a strong note as she clocked a time of 2 minutes, 6.45 seconds in the first round of the 800. That time was good enough to have her finish fourth in her heat, eighth overall and earn an automatic qualification.
UP Next
Tuesday will see Rachel Baxter, Miles Green and Pocratsky all competing for the U.S. Baxter will get the day started with qualifying rounds of the pole vault which will begin at 3:20 a.m. ET. Green will be the next up as he will run in the first round of the 400-meter hurdles which is slated to start at 4:44 a.m. ET. Pocratsky will be the final Hokie on the day as she will run in the 800 semifinals at 2:05 p.m. ET.
