Marty Gordon
NRVsports@mainstreetnewspapers.com
George Couttie set a collegiate best in the 2,000 meters to highlight opening-day competition at the Hokie Invitational on Friday, while Virginia Tech’s men’s sprint squad posted an all-time performance at the Stan Scott Invitational.
Couttie competed in the 2,000 meters, where he finished as the top collegiate finisher and set a new collegiate all-time best with a time of 4:57.81, becoming the first collegian to break five minutes in the event and establishing a Virginia Tech program record.
The performance came one week after Couttie represented Great Britain at the World Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee, Fla., where his squad finished seventh (23:11) in the mixed relay. In December, he opened his collegiate indoor season by running a career-best 7:36.74 in the 3,000 meters at the Boston University Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener, ranking No. 9 all-time in NCAA history and setting a Virginia Tech program record.
Virginia Tech Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Ben Thomas also had Olympian and world champion Cole Hocker competing in the 2,000 meters. Hocker, who continues to train under Thomas, ran 4:52.92 to break the American record and set a facility record at Rector Field House.
Hokie All-American
Virginia Tech senior Lauren Render has been named as a USA Lacrosse preseason All-American honorable mention selection.
Render has been a steady force since her freshman season with the Hokies. Her junior year was particularly impressive, scoring 55 goals, including seven in Tech’s upset of then-No. 11 Syracuse, which earned her ACC Offensive Player of the Week honors.
Last season, she led the Tech squad in both goals (55) and total points (62). The attacker was named Second Team All-ACC and IWLCA Second Team All-Region in 2025.
Big South honors Highlanders
The Big South Conference has announced Radford University’s Del Jones has been named the Co-Player of the Week and Frederik Erichsen has been named the Freshman of the Week for their efforts in the Highlanders’ 2-0 week against Big South foes.
Jones played a large role in guiding Radford to a flawless week in conference play scoring 52 total points in wins at Gardner-Webb and against Longwood. In Radford’s thrilling win over the Lancers, Jones had the shot of the day beating the clock with a layup at the last second that sealed the deal in Radford’s 85-83 win. He scored 25 points in the victory, and earlier in the week tied his career high for points with 27 on the road against Gardner-Webb.
After a relatively quiet night off the bench helping Radford earn a win at Gardner-Webb, Erichsen had a handful of key buckets in Radford’s thrilling win over Longwood to close out the week. Erichsen provided eight points and a block in the game against the Lancers. Against the Runnin’ Bulldogs, he pulled down five rebounds with another block.
RU player to UAB
UAB Head Football Coach Alex Mortensen has named Corbin Grantham to a Quality Control Assistant Coach position. Grantham spent the 2025 season on staff at Oklahoma State as a Defensive Assistant.
Prior to his time in Stillwater, Grantham played college baseball most recently at Radford from 2024-25. Grantham carried a .993 fielding percentage through his two seasons with the Highlanders and tallied 49 hits, 40 runs scored, and 26 stolen bases.
Grantham also spent two seasons at Shelton State Community College from 2022-23 where he was a career .288 hitter with the Bucs and was also part of the 2023 ACCC State Championship team.
Grantham is a native of Gainesville, Fla. and is the son of UAB defensive coordinator Todd Grantham.
