Hokies set for Tennessee, Spec Town Relays

Competition begins at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, with sophomore Mackenize Muldoon competing in the men's decathlon

April 6, 2017

BLACKSBURG – The nationally-ranked Virginia Tech track and field teams return to action Thursday with the majority of both squads competing at the 50th annual Tennessee Relays held over the course of three days at Tennessee’s Tom Black Track in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Both teams participated in three different meets last weekend, with the majority of the group opening its outdoor season at the Texas Relays, the Florida Relays and the VertKlasse Meeting. The field will be even tougher this weekend, as five top-20 women’s squads and three top-20 men’s squads are scheduled to compete.

Kentucky headlines the field, as the Wildcats’ women’s team is ranked No. 2 nationally according to the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA) Outdoor National Team Rankings. The Hokies check in at No. 15, moving up four spots from the preseason poll released on March 20. On the men’s side, host Tennessee leads the way with its No. 14 ranking. The Hokie men also jumped three spots to No. 18 this week.

Overall, 16 schools are scheduled to compete. Other schools schedule to be represented include 14/12 Tennessee, Vanderbilt, -/2 Kentucky, 15/18 Ole Miss, UNC, Duke, 18/15 Virginia Tech, -/10 Florida State, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Illinois, Rutgers, Ohio State, Southern Illinois, Middle Tennessee and Eastern Michigan.

Competition begins at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, with sophomore Mackenzie Muldoon competing in the men’s decathlon for the first time this season. Thursday’s decathlon events include the 100-meter hurdles, the high jump, the shot put and the 200-meter dash. The decathlon concludes Friday morning, with running events starting at 2:45 p.m. and field events beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday’s field competition is slated to begin at 10 a.m., with the relay teams wrapping up the three-day invitational in the afternoon.

Freshman Michael Davenport, the reigning Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Men’s Indoor Track Freshmen of the Year, will lead the Hokies’ this weekend, as he boasts the fastest 200-meter time (20.96) in the league as well as the third-fastest time in the 100 meters (10.51). Junior Greg Chiles also owns the third-best time in the conference in the 400-meter hurdles, clocking a lifetime-best mark of 51.31 seconds at the Weems Baskin Invitational.

On the women’s side, junior Courtney Blanden boasts the third best 200-meter time (23.33) in the ACC as well as the ninth-fastest time in the 400 meters (53.96). Freshman Arlicia Bush also shows the third fastest 400-meter mark, clocking a career-best time of 53.29 seconds at the Weems Baskin Invitational.

Additionally, indoor All-Americans Hanna Green, Kevin Cianfarini, Vincent Ciattei, Neil Gourley, Daniel Jaskowak, Patrick Joseph and Drew Piazza also return to the distance lineup, as they make their outdoor debut this weekend.

Of note, the SEC Network will broadcast live coverage of Friday’s competition from 3 p.m. – 7:40 p.m. ET through WatchESPN and the ESPN app. Live coverage will continue Saturday afternoon from 12 p.m. – 4 p.m. Click HERE for more information on the Tennessee Relays.

Additionally, the Tech throwers will travel to Athens, Georgia, for the 2017 Spec Town Invitational held at the University of Georgia’s Spec Towns Track. Junior Pavla Kuklova and freshmen Emma Thor and Kajsa Wennberg each will compete in the women’s hammer throw event held on Friday. All three competitors are scheduled to throw at 2 p.m. ET. Click HERE for more information on Georgia’s Spec Town Invitational.

Kuklova, Thor and Wennberg most recently competed at the 2017 Pepsi Florida Relays in Gainesville, Florida, with the trio earning top-10 finishes in their respected section of the women’s hammer throw event. Thor owns a team best 64.69-meter throw (212 ft., 3 in.) – good enough for second on Tech’s all-time list. Her mark currently ranks second in the conference and seventh on the national list.

Looking ahead, the Hokies will take a week off before competing at three different meets the weekend of April 21-22.

Fans can follow all the action during each meet of the 2017 outdoor season by following the squad on Twitter and Instagram.

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