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BLACKSBURG – Following quality performances at the Payton Jordan Invitational, the previously No. 13 ranked men’s track & field team moved up to the 10th team in the nation, as announced by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Monday in New Orleans.

Virginia Tech is the highest ranking of four ACC programs represented in the USTFCCCA’s top-25 with Virginia at No. 11, Syracuse at No. 12, and Clemson entering the poll at 25. The Hokies received 125.66 points to top the ACC foes with 11th-ranked UVA at 117.06. Top-ranked Texas A&M has 340.58 points to lead the men’s track & field rankings.

Led by Thomas Curtin, the Hokies’ distance squad continues to dominate the field. Curtin set a school record 13:33.88-finish in the 5,000 meters at the Payton Jordan Invite to finish as the fourth-best collegian in the event and fourth nationally. At the same meet, Vincent Ciattei paved the way for the Hokies with a first place finish in section four of the 800 meters to rank ninth in program history. Neil Gourley clocked in at 3:42.70 to place eighth overall and fourth collegian in section two to maintain his top-10 program ranking.

The weekend prior, Marek Barta highlighted Tech’s throwers at the Virginia Challenge with yet another program record in the discus. His 61.38-meter (201-4) mark ranks fifth in the country. Tomas Kruzliak threw a 69.94-meter (229-5) mark in the hammer throw at the same meet to rank seventh nationally.

The Hokies’ pole vaulters continued their success from the indoor season with three in the top-10 nationally and four in the top-25. Program record holder Torben Laidig leads the group with his 5.60-meter (18-4.5) clearance at the Nike Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in early April.
Darius Watkins leads Tech’s sprinters this season with his 20.96 200-meter dash time at the Miami Hurricane Invitational. He also set a personal best time in the 100 meters at the same meet.

The Hokies will wrap up the regular season this week on Wednesday at the Liberty Twilight before hosting the Hokie Twilight on Thursday.

Tech’s sprinters in addition to a portion of the Hokies’ pole vaulters and throwers will compete on Wednesday at Liberty. Field events begin at Liberty at 1 p.m. with the discus. The track events begin at 2 p.m. with the 100-meter dash.

The Hokies are scheduled to host the final meet of the season on Thursday at Johnson/Miller Track Complex. The pole vaulters will lead off the meet at 4 p.m. as the only field event. Track events begin at 5:50 p.m. with the 100-meter dash and concluded with the 10,000 meters at 8:35 p.m.

The ACC Outdoor Championships begin on Friday, May 13 through Sunday, May 15 in Tallahassee, Florida.

The National Team Computer Rankings are complied by a mathematical formula based on national descending order lists. The purpose and methodology of the rankings is to create an index that showcases the teams that have the best potential of achieving the top spots in the national team race.

Rankings points do not equate with NCAA Championships team points. Preseason marks will be included through week three of the rankings (with the exception of marks in the combined events and the 5000 and 10,000).

Read the USTFCCCA’s full release here.

For updates on Virginia Tech track & field, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_Track