Hokies track and field squads continued their success from Friday into Saturday’s action at the Hokie Invitational, breaking another school record and earning four more event wins.
Former Blacksburg High School standout Cole Beck erased several personal bests in two events.
Kicking off the action on Saturday morning were the Hokies’ heptathletes, led by Jake Spotswood. In his debut for Tech, the Alabama transfer set personal records in three of the competition’s six events en route to the win with a school-record total of 5,731 points Spotswood’s total broke the previous Virginia Tech record by 381 points and stands as the No. 1 heptathlon in the NCAA and No. 2 in the world so far this season.
Adding a 200m win to his 60m on Friday was Cole Beck, who crossed the line with a time of 21.06, the fastest he has gone indoors aside from his personal record of 21.01. Beck’s time ranks as the top 200m so far this year in the ACC.
Following Beck were three other Hokies as Tech swept the top four in the 200m: Kennedy Harrison (second, 21.20), Kahleje “KJ” Tillmon (third, 21.22), and Torrence Walker (fourth, 21.49). All three behind Beck secured personal bests in the 200m for a strong start to the season by the Hokies’ sprints group.
In the men’s seeded pole vault, Conner McClure and Harrison Rice finished as the No. 1 and No. 2 collegians in the field. Both cleared 5.20m (17′ 0.75″) with McClure taking the win on fewer attempts. The two now share the top clearance this season in the ACC with the freshman McClure setting a new lifetime best and Rice earning his best mark since February of 2021.
In the throws area, Fiona Richards earned a third-place finish in the shot put with her best mark of 16.09m (52′ 9.5″). Richards’s result marks the first time since she’s been with Virginia Tech that she delivered 16-meter throws in back-to-back meets, following her personal record of 16.35m (53′ 7.75″) at the Virginia Tech Invitational.
Closing out the action on Saturday was a thrilling 4x400m relay as the A team of Tillman, Harrison, Patrick Forrest, and Tyreke Sapp won the event with a time of 3:09.41. Their relay ranks as the top time in the ACC this year and takes the No.-4 spot on the Hokies’ all-time lists.
Tech track and field exploded for two school records, seven event wins, and a number of personal bests.
In the men’s 1,000m, Seb Anthony took the win with a school record time of 2:20.07, breaking the previous record of 2:20.54 set by Neil Gourley in 2017. Anthony’s winning time now ranks as the fastest in the NCAA this year and second-fastest in the world.
Finishing second to Anthony was fellow European star Antonio Lopez Segura, who ran the thousand meters in 2:20.73. Lopez Segura follows right behind his teammate and ranks second fastest in the NCAA and fourth in the world.
The second school record to fall on Friday was the women’s triple jump mark, broken by Victoria Gorlova with a leap of 13.18m (43′ 3″). A transfer from Kansas making her Hokies debut, Gorlova fouled on her first jump before going 13.06m (42′ 10.25″), meaning her first legal attempt with Virginia Tech took down the school record. Gorlova’s jump is the seventh best in the NCAA and tops the ACC as of Friday morning’s performance lists.
Senior sprinter Cole Beck continued his strong start to the 2022 season on Friday, setting a new personal best in the 60m dash. Beck crossed the line in 6.63 seconds, finishing first among collegiate athletes.
