Laidig tabbed ACC Men's Field Athlete of the Year

Redshirt senior garners conference award in the pole vault

June 15, 2018

ACC Release

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Putting a bow on his career at Virginia Tech, redshirt senior Torben Laidig earned ACC Men’s Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year, as announced by the league office on Friday morning.

Laidig was part of a history-making trio at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, taking the bronze medal in the men’s pole vault with a mark of 5.55 meters (18 feet, 2.5 inches). He led three Hokies among the top eight, marking the first time in school history and the first time since 1985 that three pole vaulters from the same program earned first-team All-America honors at the NCAA finals.

The outdoor school record holder had earlier taken the silver medal at the ACC Championships with his season-best vault of 5.60 meters. A native of Schwabish Hall, Germany, Laidig will close his collegiate career as the ACC men’s pole vault co-record holder of 5.70 meters (18 feet, 8.25 inches), which he first set last season and a two-time NCAA outdoor medalist after taking the silver in 2016.

Laidig wraps up his career in Blacksburg as a six-time All-American, seven-time All-ACC selection and got it done in the classroom, too, double majoring in biochemistry and biology. He has been a member of Virginia Tech’s Dean List eight times, including six of those eight semesters with a 4.0 GPA, and a member of the ACC Academic Honor Roll for four straight years.

He recently earned 2018 Google Cloud Academic All-District Track and Field and Cross Country Team in District 3, as voted on by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) and will be on the ballot for Academic All-America. Laidig has been a member of the ACC All-Academic Team the last four years and a member of the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team the last two years.

ACC Men’s Outdoor Track Performer of the Year – Andre Ewers, Florida State
ACC Women’s Outdoor Track Performer of the Year – Dorcas Wasike, Louisville
ACC Men’s Outdoor Field Performer of the Year – Torben Laidig, Virginia Tech
ACC Women’s Outdoor Field Performer of the Year – Lauri Paredes Meza, Florida State
ACC Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Freshman of the Year – Trey Cunningham, Florida State
ACC Women’s Outdoor Freshman of the Year – Ka’Tia Seymour, Florida State
ACC Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Coach of the Year – Bob Braman, Florida State
ACC Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Coach of the Year – Amy Deem, Miami

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