Tech runners finish strong at the NCAA Championships

The Tech men earned its highest team finish in program history, placing seventh overall in team scoring

March 11, 2017

COLLEGE STATION – The Virginia Tech track and field teams concluded its indoor season on a high note, as seniors Drew Piazza and Hanna Green both placed second in the 800-meter run to highlight the final day of the 2017 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships held at Texas A&M’s Gilliam Indoor Stadium in College Station, Texas.

“This really was a great meet following our conference championship,” said Dave Cianelli, Tech’s director of track & field and cross country. “We took that momentum into the national meet. This meet is always very difficult to predict because there is so much quality here. I think overall, outside of the mishap with Patrick (Joseph) in the qualifying round of the 800, we had an outstanding meet.”

Green – the Hokies lone competitor on the women’s side – entered the 800-meter run with the fourth-best time in the country. The Latrobe, Pennsylvania, native ultimately earned a silver medal for the second year in a row, finishing with a new personal-best time of 2:02.13. With today’s time, the three-time ACC champion reset her own program record in the event. She previously owned a mark of 2:02.28 set at the ACC Championships just two weeks ago. Green also earned her fourth all-America honors of her career with today’s finish, with two of those honors coming from the indoor season. Of note, Raevyn Rogers of Oregon won gold in the event with a time of 2:01.09.

Drew Piazza followed suit on the men’s side, crossing the finish line in 1:47.62 – good enough for a silver medal. The Danvers, Massachusetts, native came into today’s finals tied for fourth overall on the national list. However, Piazza was persistent in his race and used a good move midway through to put him out in front. Unfortunately, UTEP’s Emmanuel Korir passed him on the final straightaway to claim gold, finishing the race in 1:47.48. Piazza earned first-team all-America honors for the first time in his Tech career.

Additionally, junior Neil Gourley earned first-team all-America honors with a fourth-place finish in the men’s mile, crossing the line in 4 minutes, 6.26 seconds. Freshman Josh Kerr of New Mexico won gold with a time of 4:03.22, followed by Oregon’s Edward Cheserek in second (4:05.42) and Middle Tennessee’s Sampson Laari in third (4:06.11).

The No. 7-ranked men’s squad earned a seventh-place finish in team scoring thanks to a strong effort from Tech’s middle distance runners. The Hokies finished with 23.5 points throughout the two-day event, marking their highest finish at an NCAA Indoor Championships in program history. The Tech women shared a six-way tie for 27th place, as Green earned the Hokies eight points with her silver-medal finish.

“There are always places where you could say that you could’ve done better here and there, but to end up seventh overall, I am extremely happy with that finish,” Cianelli said. “Coming in, our goal was to finish in the top 10, which we did. The programs that finished ahead of us are all elite level programs, so I am very happy with the outcome and the efforts from everyone across the board. This was a great cap to the indoor season, and it will give us a nice jump start for the outdoor season.”

Of note, The Texas A&M men’s squad won its first ever NCAA indoor title, while Oregon continued its dynasty on the women’s side.

The NCAA Championships were the final event of the 2017 indoor season before transitioning to the outdoor season on March 24-25 at the Weems Baskins Invitational in Columbia, South Carolina.

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