Marty Gordon
NRVsports@mainstreetnewspapers.com
The Hokies wrapped up ACC Championships with strong performances across the board, highlighted by a gold medal from Brendan Whitfield in the 100 free (40.93).
At the conclusion of the meet, the Virginia Tech men finished fifth overall, while the women’s team placed ninth overall. The Hokies finished the week with six school records, three medals and 30 program top 10 times. These contributions came from veterans and newcomers alike, showing the program’s continued upward trajectory in one of the nation’s most competitive conferences.
Leading the way was Brendan Whitfield, who captured the gold in the men’s 100 freestyle with a record-breaking time of 40.93. This victory marked Whitfield’s first career ACC title, a milestone moment in his Hokie career. The win followed his silver medal in the 50 free earlier in the week, logging an 18.62-second swim.
Eli Martin also had a standout week for the Hokies, bringing home silver with a 51.36 in the 100-breast. His swim in the 200-breast earned him fourth place, hitting the wall at 1:51.49.
On the women’s side, the 400-freestyle relay made history with a school record time of 3:12.45, adding to the Hokies’ record-setting momentum throughout the championship.
In the 2026 race for the Commonwealth Cup, the Hokie men beat out the Cavaliers 715.5 to 577.5, adding a point to the Hokies’ score. The women fell 409.5 to 1410.5 to the 2026 ACC Champions, giving up the point. This brings the Commonwealth Clash to 7.5-3.5 in favor of UVA.
Hokies regular season champs
For the first time since 2016-2017, the No. 6 Virginia Tech wrestling team snatched outright possession of the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season title on Friday night by defeating Duke, 26-17, to finish an undefeated conference competition slate. The Hokies won six of ten matches on Senior Night in Cassell in the dual season finale to give Tony Robie and company their ninth conference title since taking the helm in Blacksburg.
Tech will look to defend its ACC tournament title in two weeks in Cassell Coliseum for the 2026 ACC Championships on March 8. This will be the first time Tech has hosted since 2019.
Jeff King new Bears assistant GM
Former Pulaski County and Virginia Tech football player Jeff King has been named assistant general manager for the Chicago Bears.
King played in 58 games in Blacksburg, starting his final two seasons for the Hokies at tight end before embarking on an eight-year NFL career. From 2006-13, King played for the Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals, appearing in 108 games and starting 84. He caught 156 career passes and 12 touchdowns. He then joined Chicago Bears as a scouting intern, pro scout and assistant director of pro scouting. In 2024, he was named senior director of player personnel in 2024.
Hokies honored by ACC
The Atlantic Coast Conference is proud to celebrate and recognize over 60 exceptional student-athletes, including 32 selected as 2026 Weaver-James-Corrigan-Swofford Postgraduate Scholarship recipients, three of whom will also receive the prestigious Jim & Pat Thacker Scholarship Award.
Two Hokies, Kylie Aldridge and Lauren Hargrove were named Weaver-James-Corrigan-Swofford Postgraduate Scholarship recipients, and the duo was also on the 2026 ACC Excellence Award List.
Aldridge, an athlete on the Hokies’ softball team is a career .303 hitter who had her best season in 2025 where she hit .368 and registered career highs in nearly all statistical categories including hits, home runs, RBI and total bases. She was named to the 2025 ACC All-Second Team and was also a 2025 NFCA Mid-Atlantic Third Team member. So far in 2026, Aldridge and her Hokies are ranked 20th ahead of a trip to Athens, Georgia for the Georgia Classic this weekend.,
Hargove, Tech women’s soccer’s starting goalkeeper for each of the last three seasons, finished her career in the gall with 58 starts in 59 appearances. In the 2025 season she started all 18 matches for Tech and became the fourth goalkeeper in program history to reach 5,000 career minutes. She was named ACC Defensive Player of the Week twice in her career.
High Point Big South champs
High Point defeated Gardner-Webb on Saturday, 83-53, to win the outright women’s basketball regular-season title. The Panthers will be the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Air Force Reserve Big South Women’s Basketball Championship. Elsewhere, USC Upstate knocked off Longwood in double-overtime, while Radford won at Charleston Southern to move into second-place in the standings.
