The Virginia Tech Hokies have built a strong men's track and field program over the last few years that has been ranked this season. This past weekend, the Hokies competed in the ACC Outdoor Track and Field Championships and while the women's team did have a solid weekend, the men's team took the headlines.
The Virginia Tech men's track and field team won their second ACC team title this past weekend quite easily as the Hokies had 129 points, 36 more points than second place finisher N.C. State.
Arguably the star of the weekend was senior long distance runner Thomas Curtin who won the men's 5000 and 10,000 meter races. Curtin's performance in the 5000 was especially impressive as he was .22 seconds away from breaking the all-time ACC meet record.
There is no doubt that Curtin will be a contender to win a national championship in the 5000 after finishing seventh last season while he could also be a contender to win the 10,000 at the national championships.
One key to victory for the Hokies was the fact that they dominated the pole vault with the Hokies taking the top seven spots to build an insurmountable lead on the opening day of the event led by senior Chris Uhle winning the title. The Hokies have two talented pole vaulters ready to replace Uhle in sophomore Torben Laidig and freshman Deaken Volz who finished tied for second.
Uhle, Laidig, and Volz will all have their focus now on trying to earn First Team All-American status with all three having the ability to do that.
Freshman Matija Muhar was injured all spring with a shoulder injury but was finally able to compete for the first time this season this past weekend and blew out the competition as Matija Muhar beat his older brother and junior Jaka Muhar by over 7 meters in the javelin.
Matija Muhar is seen as one of the top young javelin throwing prospects in the world, and is definitely a sleeper that could make a run at being a First Team All-American as a freshman.
In his final ACC Championship, senior hammer thrower Thomas Kruzliak came up just short finishing second, but bringing in valuable points for the Hokies. However, Kruzliak is definitely a guy to watch at the National Championships as someone that has contended for a national title in the past.
Junior Neil Gourley came second in the 1500 and will definitely be a contender to earn some All-American honors this year while junior Patrick Joseph lost in the 800 final by only .03 seconds. Sophomore Marek Barta finished second in discus and while this wasn't his year, the gap between him and Virginia junior Filip Mihaljevic is not big at all and can definitely be conquered.
One person to watch for the future is wide receiver Samuel Denmark who is extremely fast and represented the Hokies this past weekend as a part of the 4x100 relay team. Denmark could be a guy to watch in the 100 and 200 as he was a highly-regarded track runner out of South Carolina in addition to being a three-star wide receiver.
After an impressive showing at this past weekend ACC Outdoor Track and Field Championships, the Virginia Tech men's track and field has their eyes set on pushing for a big finish in the NCAA East Regional in Jacksonville and the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene.
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