A Look at the Week That Was in Virginia Tech Men's Track and Field THE 2017 ACC INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

2017 MEN'S ACC INDOOR CHAMPS

The No. 7-ranked Hokies claimed its fourth indoor crown at the 2017 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships, held on Feb. 23-25, at Notre Dame's Loftus Sports Center in South Bend, Indiana.

The Hokies scored 109 points, outlasting in-state rival Virginia by 11 points. Florida State came in third with 86 points, while Clemson (76) and Syracuse (47) rounded out the top five, placing fourth and fifth, respectively.

It was to no surprise that the Hokies were crowned the 2017 ACC champs. However, the records set along the way were a shock to everyone, including the team itself.

The Hokies arrived in South Bend, Indiana, with their eyes set on one thing and one thing only - an ACC Championship. And they did just that.
The men's distance medley relay team of Daniel Jaskowak, Brandon Thomas, Kevin Cianfarini and Neil Gourley claimed Tech's first gold medal, finishing the event in 9 minutes, 31.05 seconds, which was a little more than two seconds ahead of runner-up Florida State. The Hokies sat in second place after the first three legs of the event, but Gourley passed Clemson's anchor on the final lap to lift Tech to first place. The time marked a season best.
Redshirt junior Vincent Ciattei claimed gold in the men's mile for the Hokies. Virginia's Henry Wynne was the fan favorite heading into the race, but Ciattei used a tremendous kick on the final straighaway to surge ahead of Wynne, the 2016 defending national champion, to score the upset of the weekend. Ciattei marked a career-best time of 4:01.04 for the win.
Additionally, sophomore Diego Zarate captured bronze and finished with a career-best time of 4:02.72.
Four of five Tech athletes competing in the men's pole vault racked up points toward the team total, with redshirt junior Torben Laidig claiming a gold medal. Laidig finished with an ACC Championship meet record, vaulting a height of 5.55 meters (18 ft., 2.5 in.). Sophomore Deakin Volz, who also owns the ACC record in the pole vault, earned a silver medal with a vault of 5.50 meters (18 ft., .5 in).
Tech had the ability to take the title in the 800-meter race from the get-go, as senior Drew Piazza recorded the fastest time in Friday's prelims. However, it was redshirt junior Patrick Joseph who ultimately won the race, beating Piazza on the final lap to claim gold. Joseph finished the race with a school-record time of 1:46.23 for the win. He also notched an ACC Championship meet record in the event.
Piazza finished the race with a lifetime-best mark of 1:46.42 - good enough for a silver-medal finish.
Junior Greg Chiles landed on the podium in the 200-meter dash with a third-place finish, recording a time of 21.25 seconds.
Senior Daniel Jaskowak also ran away with a silver-medal finish in the 3,000-meter run, crossing the finish line with a time of 8:05.96.

A group of 10 Hokies will compete at this year's NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships held at Texas A&M's Gilliam Indoor Stadium on Friday and Saturday. ESPN3 will provide live streaming Friday at 6:25 p.m. ET and Saturday at 4:55 p.m. ET. Click the buttons below for more information.

Created By
Amy Salvatore
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Photos were provided by the Atlantic Coast Conference.

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