Tim Vaught

Tim Vaught heads into his ninth year with the Virginia Tech track and field programs, and ahead of the 2020 season was promoted to Associate Head Coach for the men’s team. Vaught trains the sprints, hurdles and relays groups for the Hokies, and he has continued to improve his group to become one of the best in the ACC and the nation.
 
Both the indoor and outdoor seasons in 2022 featured vintage coaching from Vaught and electric performances from his athletes. During the outdoor campaign, Vaught led Tech’s men’s 4x100m to historic success. The team of Cole Beck, Kahleje Tillmon, Kennedy Harrison, and Torrence Walker ran under the previous school record of 39.24 a staggering six times, including three performances under 38 seconds. With a best time on the season of 38.69, the relay squad won Virginia Tech’s first ever ACC title in the men’s 4x100m. At the NCAA East Prelims, the squad easily qualified with a lightning-quick time of 38.78 to advance to Oregon for the NCAA Championships. With a 10^th-place finish at NCAA outdoors, Beck, Tillmon, Harrison, and Walker secured the highest 4x1 placement in school history and earned second-team All-American honors.
 
Beck’s rise under Vaught continued in 2022, as the Blacksburg native delivered even more impressive performances for the Hokies. At the ACC Indoor Championships, the senior added the second individual conference title of his career by winning the 200m, then took bronze in the 60m. Beck’s point total of 16 saw him earn ACC Men’s Track MVP honors for the championships. Outdoors, Beck repeated with Men’s Track MVP honors at the outdoor ACC Championships, becoming only the third athlete in ACC history to win Men’s Track MVP at both the indoors and outdoors conference meets in the same season, and the first since 2015. With silver medals in both the 100m and 200m, in addition to his anchor leg on the school record 4x100m relay, Beck accrued 26 points for the Hokies.
 
Exploding onto the scene for Vaught and the Hokies in 2022 was freshman walk-on Kahleje Tillmon. A native of Tucker, Ga., Tillmon has already shaken up the Virginia Tech record books after one year in Blacksburg. At the ACC Outdoor Championships, Tillmon took down Keith Ricks’ 10-year 200m school record by running 20.41 to win the conference title. His efforts over 200m and as a member of the 4x100m earned him ACC Men’s Co-Freshman of the Year honors. Tillmon’s progression over 200m is a testament both to his effort and talent and to Vaught’s tutelage: Tillmon ran his first collegiate 200m indoors in 21.22, and in just four months had snagged the Hokies’ all-time record.
 
Another newcomer that excelled with Vaught’s coaching was Kennedy Harrison, a sophomore transfer from Northwestern State. Harrison immediately became an integral part to the Hokies’ 4x100m success and team efforts at the conference level. Indoors, Harrison earned All-ACC honors in the 400m with a sixth-place finish and finished seventh in the 200m, clinching five team points en route to the ACC title. Harrison’s personal bests in a Virginia Tech uniform place him right at the top of the Hokies’ record books. Outdoors, Harrison has run 45.87 in the 400m (No. 2), 20.50 in the 200m (No. 4), and 10.34 in the 100m (No. 7). Indoors, Harrison’s clocked 20.88 in the 200m (No. 2), 46.83 in the 400m (No. 2), and 33.93 in the 300m (No. 7).

During the 2021 outdoor season, Vaught led his sprinters as they set program history on multiple occasions. Blacksburg native Cole Beck became the first Hokie to ever win the men’s 100m at the ACC Championships with a school record of 10.11 seconds. Beck continued his rise during championship season and joined Darrell Wesh as the only Virginia Tech men to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 100m, breaking his new school record with a time of 10.10 seconds. In Eugene, Beck earned second team All-American honors after finishing 12th in the event, before capping off his breakthrough season by competing at the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials.
 
Jacory Patterson continued his sprinting domination under Vaught, as the junior ran the fastest 400m in Virginia Tech history by punching in a 44.81, at the time the third fastest 400m in the entire world. Not only did Patterson shatter his own school record, but he also became the first Hokie to ever break the 45-second barrier in the 400m. Patterson went on to win gold in the 400m at the ACC Outdoor Championships, earning his fifth consecutive 400m title indoors and outdoors. Patterson’s run of five straight 400m titles ranks as the second longest streak in ACC history since the event was first ran at the 1976 championships.
 
Vaught helped the Hokies to more program firsts outdoors, as Tech's 4x400m men's relay won gold at the ACC Championships for the first time in school history. Finishing with a time of 3:06.46, not only did the relay squad of Patrick Forrest, Cameron Rose, Tyreke Sapp, and Jacory Patterson claim the program's first men's 4x400m ACC title, they finished just .06 seconds off of the current school record. The relay squad advanced past the NCAA East Regionals in Jacksonville, Fla. to become the first men’s 4x400m team in Virginia Tech history to compete at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
 
Standout performances for Vaught’s sprints group outdoors didn’t just end there, as both Patrick Forrest and Tyreke Sapp set new personal bests in the 400m, with Forrest clocking a 46.71 for second all-time at Virginia Tech and Sapp running 46.99 to earn fourth all-time in the Hokies’ record book. Additionally, the 4x100m relay squad of Cameron Rose, Jacory Patterson, Michael Bell, and Cole Beck delivered a time of 39.61 seconds to qualify for the NCAA East Regionals and move into second fastest all-time at Virginia Tech. During the outdoor season, Beck and Rose shone in the 200m as well. Beck earned a PR of 20.71 seconds at the ACC Championships, while Cameron Rose delivered a career best of 20.87 in the event.

In the 2021 indoor season, Vaught and his sprinters continued their success with multiple school records and medals at the conference and national level. Jacory Patterson finished third in the 400m at the NCAA Indoor Championships with a time of 45.14, breaking his own ACC record that he set earlier in the season. Patterson added another all-time mark to his name indoors, setting a new ACC Indoor Championships meet record in the 400m with a winning time of 45.38 seconds. Patterson also won gold in the 200m with a time of 20.62 seconds, completing the first men’s 200m/400m double since 2006 by any athlete in the ACC. Patterson’s historic double clocks in as the fastest combined 200m/400m championship performance ever in the ACC and marks only the fourth time a sprinter has won both the men's 200m and the 400m at the same ACC Championships.
 
The Hokies swept the men's and women's 400m at the 2021 ACC Indoor Championships, as Caitlan Tate defended her title with a time of 53.32. Tate's 400m win marked the second indoor season that Virginia Tech dominated the 400m event for both men & women, with Tate joining Patterson as the Hokies' repeat 400m winners.

Patrick Forrest set a new program best in the 500m with a time of 1:02.79, breaking the previous Virginia Tech school record that had stood for 17 years by nearly .05 seconds. Cole Beck joined Patterson with 200m success, finishing fourth at the ACC Indoor Championships with a personal best time of 21.10 for second all-time at Virginia Tech.

During the 2020 indoor season, Vaught saw his group reset seven school records, win three gold medals and break a collegiate record. Jacory Patterson and Caitlan Tate headlined the group, as they both won gold medals in the 400-meter dash at the ACC Indoor Championships and qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships.
 
Patterson continued his ascension as one of the top sprinters in the nation during his sophomore campaign. He began the season by breaking Torrin Lawrence’s collegiate record in the 300 (32.32) with his time of 32.28 seconds. Patterson would go on to reset his 400 indoor record and win the gold medal at the ACC Championships with his time of 45.66 seconds, finishing the indoor season with the fifth-fastest time in the country
 
Tate started her career as a 60- and 100-meter runner before Vaught made the decision to change her events to the 200- and 400 after the 2019 season. Tate proved him right in the Hokies' season-opening meet, as she broke the school record in the 300 with her time of 37.15. At the ACC Championships, Tate won the 400 with a school-record time (52.42). She also turned in a school-record time (23.38) in the 200 to take silver.
 
The success of the relay teams continued as well, as the women’s 4x400 team of Tate, Kennedy Dennis, Nykah Smith and Arlicia Bush broke the school record (3:36.24) and won gold at the ACC Championships. The men’s 4x400 team of Patrick Forrest, Tyreke Sapp, Miles Green and Patterson won bronze at the ACC Championships, setting a new school record (3:07.79).  
 
The 2019 indoor and outdoor seasons were strong for the sprinters and hurdles under coach Vaught’s tutelage, as the group reset five school records. Vaught also was instrumental in the emergence of Green and Patterson — freshmen at the time. Patterson was the ACC indoor 400 champion as well as the 200 and 400 outdoor champion, while Green finished fourth at ACC indoors in the 400 and was the ACC outdoor champion in the 400 hurdles.
 
Patterson started the season strong, as he broke the indoor 300-meter dash school record with his time of 32.49, and that time also broke the U-20 world record. His strong start turned into a great season, as he broke the 200 (20.84) and 400 (46.04) indoor records, along with the 400 (45.46) outdoor school record. He was also a member of the 4x100 team of him, Joseph Tay, Cole Beck and Michael Davenport that set a new school record as well (39.24).
 
Green came into form late into the indoor season, shaving over a second off his seed time (48.48) at ACC meet to finish fourth in the 400 (47.38). During the outdoor season, he was the ACC champion in the 400 hurdles (50.32) and went on to pick up All-America honors at the NCAA Championships.
 
Vaught also had another successful year with the relays as the 4x100 team of Tay, Patterson, Beck and Davenport broke the school record (39.24) and became just the second Tech 4x100 team to qualify for national meet in the past 18 years.

Under Vaught in 2018, the sprinters and hurdlers continued their upward trajectory, setting four new school records during the indoor and outdoor seasons. Vaught also played a huge role in the development of Courtney Blanden and Greg Chiles. Chiles earned two medals combined at the ACC Indoor and Outdoor Championships, while Blanden scored at both ACC meets.

Chiles, who transferred from the University of South Carolina in 2017, earned All-America honors for the second time in his career, as he was a member of the distance medley relay team that won a national championship during the indoor season. He had a great 2018 season for the Hokies, setting new school records in the 200 (21.04) and 400 hurdles (50.04). In his two years at Virginia Tech and under the tutelage of Vaught, Chiles left holding five school records.

Blanden, who started as a walk-on, set three school records — in just two years — in the 200 during both the indoor (23.60) and outdoor seasons (23.01) and the 400 in the outdoor season (52.24). She was also a member of the distance medley relay team of her, Katie Kennedy, Laura Barton and Sarah Edwards that set a new indoor school record (10:53.62).

The relay teams had a strong year as the men’s 4x400 team of Chiles,  Davenport, Brandon Thomas and Patrick Joseph earned bronze at the ACC Indoor Championships and set a new school record (3:09.33), while the women’s team of Blanden,  Dennis, Tate and Bush also set a new school record (3:36.83).

In 2017, Vaught’s sprinters and hurdlers combined to set eight school records, and Davenport was named the ACC Men’s Track and Field Freshman of the Year during the indoor season. Davenport, Chiles and Blanden headlined the contingent for Vaught during the 2017 season, especially Chiles, who earned All-America honors as part of Tech’s distance medley relay team that claimed a silver medal at the 2017 NCAA Indoor Championships. Chiles set the school record in the 400 (46.98) during the indoor season and the 400 hurdles (50.39) during the outdoor season. He, Davenport, Brandon Thomas and Drew Piazza set the school mark in the 4x400-meter relay during both the indoor and outdoor seasons.

In fact, during the outdoor season, those four set the school record at the ACC Championships in what was the final event of the meet. They finished third and secured enough points to help Tech clinch the team title – the program’s seventh team championship since 2011.

Vaught came to Tech in August of 2015 after serving as the associate head coach at the University of Illinois. Dave Cianelli, Tech’s director of track and field and cross country, hired him to rebuild the sprints and hurdles areas of the program largely because of Vaught’s past successes in those areas.

Vaught has coached 55 All-Americans during his career, and more impressively, three Olympians, including former Tech sprinter Darrell Wesh, who has worked with Vaught and qualified for the 2016 Haitian National Team. Wesh ran the 100m at the 2016 Olympic Games held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

“Coach Vaught owns an impressive history of success at each program he has been a part of,” Cianelli said at the time of Vaught’s hiring. “His reputation of being a relentless recruiter and outstanding developer of talent makes him a perfect fit for our program. His extensive background of working with football players on the track will really enhance our ability to attract these dual-sport athletes. His areas of responsibility will include the men's and women's sprints, hurdles and relays."

Prior to Vaught’s time at Illinois, he had spent more than a year as an associate head men’s and women’s track and field coach at Coastal Carolina. He helped lead the Chanticleer women to the 2013 Big South indoor title and coached Erica Peake, who earned second-team All-America honors. During the outdoor season, two of the Chanticleers’ relay teams under Vaught earned honorable mention All-America status. In addition, Jessica Gelibert was named Big South Freshman of the Year for both the indoor and outdoor seasons.

Following the 2013 season, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) named Vaught its Southeast Region Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year. He also received this honor in 2009 and 2012.

From 2008-12, Vaught coached at Charlotte, overseeing the sprints, hurdles and relays areas. While at Charlotte, he was a part of 49er teams that won five indoor conference championships and six outdoor titles. In all, 107 track and field athletes earned All-Atlantic 10 honors while he worked there.

Prior to Charlotte, Vaught opened the P2 Peak Performance Training Center and coached a pair of Olympic Trial automatic qualifiers in the triple jump as well as a 100-meter and 200-meter sprinter. He also helped train NFL athletes and rookies in their preparations for the NFL Combine.

Vaught also spent a year (2006-07) at Florida State University, where he was the multi-event coach and recruiting coordinator. When not helping bring top-rated track recruits to Tallahassee, he helped then-football coach Bobby Bowden as a speed development consultant. During his time in Tallahassee, Vaught signed three high school national champions and was a member of the coaching staff for the Seminoles’ ACC, East Regional and NCAA Championship team in 2006.

From 2002-06, Vaught worked as assistant men’s and women’s track coach at Coastal Carolina. In two stints at Coastal Carolina, he was part of five teams that won outdoor conference titles and three that won indoor championships.

Vaught is a 2001 graduate of Western Carolina University with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a minor in criminal justice. While at Western Carolina, he served as team captain of the track squad during his senior season. Vaught led the 4x100- and 4x400-meter relay teams to conference titles and also helped the 4x400-meter relay qualify for the NCAA Championships.

Vaught was a junior-college All-American at Brevard College in North Carolina as a member for the 4x400-meter relay team. After getting his associate’s degree, he transferred to Western Carolina.

When not on the track, Vaught was a member of the Catamount football team. A running back and defensive back by trade, he twice earned letters in football. He got his coaching start at his alma mater as a graduate assistant. While with the Catamounts, he assisted in coaching 11 All-Southern Conference performers, including a pair of 4x400-meter relay teams. He also worked with six conference champions and a national provisional qualifier.

Vaught is married to his wife Hyleas and has two sons, Xavier and Tim Jr, and a daughter, Genevieve.