Pocratsky's school-record run headlines Tech efforts at Hokie Invitational

The Hokies won three events and saw 19 athletes set personal bests

January 20, 2017

Hokie Invitational
Results from Day No. 2

BLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech’s Rachel Pocratsky broke the school record in the 1,000-meter run to headline the Hokies’ efforts in day No. 2 of the Hokie Invitational held on Friday evening at Rector Field House.

Runners Daniel Jaskowak and Drew Piazza also were winners for the Hokies on an evening in which 19 of their athletes set personal bests.

No performance was better than Pocratsky’s, though, as the sophomore from Olney, Maryland passed teammate Hanna Green on the final lap and finished the race in a time of 2 minutes, 44.23 seconds. She broke Amanda Smith’s previous record of 2:44.54, which was set in 2015.

“Rachel is really coming around,” Tech distance coach Ben Thomas said. “That whole mid-distance group – Rachel, Hanna Green, Laurie Barton – I think they’re coming around nicely. Hanna did a lot of the work [in the 1,000] and got it out to a pretty good pace, and they both closed pretty well.

“It was a school record for Rachel, and as a sophomore, she’s really coming on strong. I’m excited to see what she can do in the mile here in a couple of weeks.”

Green finished in second with a time of 2:44.56 – just 33-hundredths of a second behind Pocratsky. Green’s time now ranks third on Tech’s all-time list.

Jaskowak led a contingent of maroon in the mile, coming in first in a time of 4:07.37. Andrew Gaiser finished second, setting a personal best with a time of 4:07.60, while Peter Seufer came in third and Andrew Goldman in fourth.

In the men’s 1,000, Piazza – a transfer from New Hampshire who ran unattached – edged teammate Neil Gourley with a time of 2:22.72. Gourley finished just seven-hundredths of a second behind Piazza. Their times in the event now rank third and fourth, respectively, on Tech’s all-time list.

Also, Tech’s Vincent Ciattei came in third in the 1,000 in a personal-best time of 2:23.62. That time now ranks fifth on the school’s all-time list behind Piazza and Gourley.

In the men’s 3,000, Tech’s Ashkan Mohammadi was second with a personal-best time of 8:27.99. He shaved more than 12 seconds off his previous best time.

“We’re pretty deep right now in our men’s distance group,” Thomas said. “We’re working pretty hard, and they’re coming off those hard workouts on Wednesdays and racing well on Fridays, so it’s very encouraging. We’ve just got to get through these next couple of weeks, and if they keep recovering like they are now, it’s going to bode really well for the [ACC] Championships.”

Tech also got a strong performance from Katie Kennedy, who came in third in the women’s mile. Kennedy finished with a time of 4:49.85 – a time that ranks seventh on the all-time list. Tessa Riley, Lauren Berman, Laurie Barton, Kayla Richardson, Sarah Edwards and Jennifer Fleming finished in spots 6-11 in the event

Both Shanel Burr and Aaron Simpson qualified for the finals of the women’s and men’s 60-meter hurdles, respectively. Simpson came in fifth in a time of 8.20 seconds, while Burr was sixth in a time of 8.63 seconds.

The Hokies’ Samuel Denmark – who plays on Tech’s football team – qualified for the finals of the 60-meter dash, running a time of 6.87 seconds. He did not run in the finals, though.

The final day of the Hokie Invitational is Saturday, with the women’s pole vault starting the competition at 11 a.m. Admission to the event is free.

PERSONAL BESTS

MILE

Katie Kennedy (4:49.85)

Jennifer Fleming (4:59.54)

Andrew Gaiser (4:07.60)

Andrew Goldman (4:09.59)

Jack Joyce (4:10.67)

Brent Musselman (4:11.10)

Andrew Eason (4:19.27)

1,000

Rachel Pocratsky (2:44.23)