RALEIGH, N.C. – Three days of brilliant track and field performances from the Hokies culminated on Saturday as the Hokies earned themselves second and seventh place team finishes.
"Fantastic meet by our team," Director of Track and Field Dave Cianelli said. "We fought to the very end and with the people we brought to this meet, we got 100% out of each person. To finish second with the men was a great effort. This outdoor season our team has been hit with some injuries and illness, but that is life, and you deal with it. I am so proud of how this team has persevered this spring and performed here this week."
The runner-up finish for the men's team marks the sixth consecutive outdoor championships in which the Hokies have finished in the top three on the men's side.
"Throughout the season with all the COVID protocols, I think both teams fought to the end," Associate Head Coach Tim Vaught said. "We didn't win the meet, but we won the battle. They did everything they could to win, and I have to take my hat off to both teams. It was a hard fight for the men, we were in it to try to win, and the women's team was really strong. They're going to be stronger next year, and we're going to keep building on that. The men's team finished second with a lot of personal bests, a lot of ACC champions, and we're going to come back next year and be prepared to win."
Tech finished the championship meet with seven individual ACC Champions and four new school records, including a facility and ACC Championships record in the 3000m steeplechase from Fitsum Seyoum on Friday.
"Overall, I'm really proud of our teams," Associate Head Coach Andrew Dubs said. "The men and women both fought extremely hard all weekend and gutted out everything they had for this program. The results may not be where we wanted but given everything we have gone through the last 15 months and even the last month, it's been hard. Regardless, everyone here at this meet gave everything they had, not just this weekend but all year, and that's what it means to be a Hokie."
Standouts from Saturday's loaded schedule included the men's 4x400m relay, Cole Beck, Jacory Patterson, Lindsey Butler, and Diego Alejandro Zarate.
In the final event of the championships, the men's 4x400m relay team of Patrick Forrest, Cameron Rose, Tyreke Sapp, and Jacory Patterson took home the ACC title with a time of 3:06.46, the second-fastest 4x400m in Virginia Tech history. The race marked Patterson's fourth entry of the day and Rose's third, an incredible feat of stamina and speed.
Beck followed his preliminary pole win in the 100m with a school record and title-winning performance, posting a time of 10.11 seconds. His time breaks the previous Virginia Tech record of 10.14 seconds, set by Darrell Wesh in 2013.
Patterson repeated as outdoor 400m champion in the ACC, posting a time of 45.14 seconds to continue his resume as one of the greatest sprinters in conference history.
Beck and Patterson both earned second team All-ACC nods in the 200m, their third race of the day following their efforts in the 4x100m relay.
"I think the sprinters put everything on the table, they gave everything that they had. These guys that have been with me for a few years, they did phenomenal. Jacory again is ACC champion in the 400. Cole Beck, the last three weeks how he's been developing in the 100m and now to win the ACC and to break the school record that has stood for a good amount of years, and is the first Virginia Tech athlete to win the men's 100m. To get three guys in the final of the 200, especially Cameron Rose as a freshman was really impressive and earned some good points. At the end for the guys to know they weren't going to win as a team but to tell me that they were going to win their relay, that they would end the meet as champions, going from seeded eighth to winning, I take my hat off to them. That was phenomenal for the team spirit to see that and for those guys to come back and win that 4x400m relay. It was very exciting, we had a good, hard fought meet, and we're set up for a bright future."
Lindsey Butler delivered a sensational effort in the 800m, crossing the line at 2:01.32 to take second place in the ACC and set the second fastest outdoor time in Hokies' history.
Zarate claimed third place and first team All-ACC honors in the 1500m run by posting a time of 3:42.23.
Next up for the Hokies is a trip to the NCAA East Regional qualifying meet, set to run from May 26 to May 29.Gallery: (5-15-2021) 2021 ACC TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS DAY 3
