BLACKSBURG, Va. (theACC.com) – Virginia Tech is set to welcome the 2022 Atlantic Coast Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships, which will be held this Thursday (Feb. 24) through Saturday (Feb. 26) at Rector Field House.
The Virginia Tech men and Florida State women enter this year’s event as the defending ACC champions.
This will mark the 12th time that Rector Field House has been the site of the ACC Championships, and the eighth time since Virginia Tech came on board as an ACC member. The Hokies last played host to the Championships in 2019, when Florida State and Virginia Tech tied for the men’s title, and Miami took home the women’s trophy.
Notre Dame’s men enter this year’s Championship ranked seventh in the latest USTFCCCA Indoor Rating Index released Monday. Florida State holds the No. 13 spot, while Clemson checks in at No. 23.
Virginia Tech leads the ACC women’s top-25 contingent with a No. 9 national ranking, followed by NC State at No. 11 and Notre Dame at No. 12. Duke holds the No. 25 spot.
The 2021-22 regular season was a record-breaking one for ACC Indoor Track and Field competitors.
Notre Dame’s Yared Nuguse put his name in the men’s NCAA indoor record books on Feb. 12 with a 3,000 meters time of 7:38.13 that led a field of 133 runners in the David Hemery Valentine Invitational hosted by Boston University. Nuguse bettered the previous NCAA mark of 7:38.59 set by Alistair Cragg on Feb. 14, 2004.
A senior from Louisville, Kentucky, Nuguse also set an ACC record in the men’s mile (3:54.46) during the current indoor season, and last weekend joined teammates Samuel Voelz, Max Frye and Tim Zepf in breaking the conference DMR mark with a time of 9:21.73.
A familiar name to conference followers has also been making waves in the men’s 60-meter hurdles, as Florida State grad student Trey Cunningham enters this week’s competition as the ACC record holder with a time of 7.42.
Cunningham, the first student-athlete in FSU history to land on The Bowerman Watch List in three different years, first set the ACC record in the 60-meter hurdles in 2020 and has bettered his own marks on three occasions so far this winter.
Two FSU runners also established ACC record times during the regular season. Adriann Wildschutt posted a 5,000 meters time of 13:09.30 that ranks second all-time in NCAA annals and was just 1.16 seconds shy of the collegiate record. Wildschutt broke the ACC, South African and FSU school records by more than 21 seconds, bettering his previous mark of 13:30.35 he set during the 2021 NCAA Indoor Championships.
On the women’s side, Lauren Ryan’s time of 8:47.48 in the 3,000 meters at the David Hemery Valentine Invite now stands as the fourth-fastest time in NCAA history and hit the qualifying mark for the world championships. Ryan bettered the previous ACC women’s indoor 3,000 meters record of 8:54.17 set by NC State’s Katelyn Tuohy in early December.
Nuguse (3000 meters), Wildschutt, Cunningham and Ryan currently lead the nation in their respective events.
The ACC holds national top-10 rankings in 22 women’s events, including No. 2 rankings by NC State’s Kelsey Chmiel in the 5,000 meters, the Virginia Tech DMR team and Virginia Tech’s Rachel Baxter in the pole vault. The ACC holds the top-10 national ranking in 17 men’s events, including second-ranked Notre Dame’s Dylan Jacobs in the 5,000 meters, the Notre Dame DMR and NC State’s Von Douglas in the long jump.
ACC Network Extra will provide live stream and broadcast coverage Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with Shawn Kenney again on play-by-play, former Duke head coach Norm Ogilvie serving as analyst and Katie George handling sideline reporting. Watch links are listed below. In addition, ACC Network will air a five-hour highlights/recap of the Championship on Sunday morning, beginning at 7 a.m.
Thursday 5:30 pm: https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=5c1e66b6-ad8a-483e-a411-7b6ce0fd5990
Friday Noon (Livestream only): https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=a63171af-16f3-4d37-af15-a626a88c6f9f
Friday 2:55 pm: https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=4eca20fd-ff14-4054-97ae-8a891554885b
Saturday 12:55 pm: https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=7e6b90f8-2490-4ea6-94eb-1948fe276e4b
Live Results:
https://theacc.co/22itfResults
Printable Schedule:
https://theacc.co/22ITFsked
Finish Lines
• While competing for ACC team and individual titles, this weekend’s competitors also seek to enhance their rankings heading into the 2022 NCAA Indoor Championships, scheduled for March 11-12 at the CrossPlex in Birmingham, Alabama.
• Florida State owns 13 men’s Indoor conference titles to lead all current ACC schools. Clemson is next with 12, and Virginia Tech follows with six team championships. Current FSU coach Bob Braman has been at the helm for 11 of the Seminole men’s ACC titles, tied for second-most in league history. Virginia Tech coach Dave Cianelli’s six ACC championships tie for fourth.
• North Carolina’s 15 ACC women’s championships - all under the late legendary head coach Dennis Craddock - are the most among conference schools. Clemson is next with six. Miami’s Amy Deem ranks second behind Craddock in all-time ACC women’s head coaching team championships with five.