Coach Ben Thomas Wins First Title As Director Of Hokies Program As Judson Lincoln IV Wins 200/400 Double; Clemson Women Win First ACC Indoor Title In 10 Years

By David Woods for DyeStat

Virginia Tech/Clemson photos

INTERVIEWS

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – It has been a satisfying seven months for Blacksburg, Va., runners and Ben Thomas.

On Aug. 6, Cole Hocker, coached by Thomas, unexpectedly won a gold medal in the 1,500 meters at the Paris Olympics. On Monday, the Virginia Tech Hokies, coached by Thomas, won the men’s title at the ACC Indoor Championships.

“We didn’t have a perfect day in terms of points,” Thomas said. “But we had a perfect effort.”

Heading into the climactic 4x400-meter relay, Virginia Tech led Virginia 74-73. The Hokies, without Judson Lincoln IV, finished second and Virginia seventh.

Ballgame.

Virginia Tech 82, Virginia 75.

Florida State was third with 64 points, North Carolina fourth with 54, California fifth with 53.

It was the lowest winning total since Maryland's 77 in 1979, although scoring – and ACC membership – has expanded significantly.

“It’s almost like a regional meet. It feels bigger than a conference meet in terms of the talent,” Thomas said. “You slip up at all, you go from scoring big to not scoring at all.”

It was the fourth title in five years and ninth in 15 years for Virginia Tech, but first for Thomas as director of the program. He previously coached distance runners there, was hired and fired by Oregon, and now is back as head coach.

In an ACC featuring distance stars Ethan Strand, Parker Wolfe and Gary Martin, the track MVP was Lincoln.

He won the 400 in 45.55 seconds and 200 in 20.56. He grabbed his left hamstring at the finish, and what was characterized as a cramp took him out of the 4x400.

“I hate losing more than I like winning. Stacking the dubs (wins,)” said Lincoln, whose outdoor PB of 44.55 made him the No. 9 American last year.

Martin, of Virginia, lowered Strand’s meet record in the 3,000 meters by 10 seconds with a time of 7:36.69. The race was led by Stanford sophomore Leo Young, who was at 4:06 through 1,600 meters before dropping out.

Luke Tewalt of Wake Forest was second in 7:39.09 and Cole Sprout of Stanford third in 7:42.41, both PBs. Sprout broke Grant Fisher's 2019 school record. 

Martin, whose 3:48.82 mile ranks No. 2 in collegiate history, was second in the 5,000 Saturday in 13:30.69. Martin’s 3,000 was not a PB but more consequential than the 7:36.09 he ran for fourth in a paced race Dec. 7.

“I know my fitness is there,” Martin said. “I’ve run fast times. Naturally, the next step is to be able to kick and win races off of fast times.”

At indoor NCAAs, Martin could run any combination of mile, 3,000 or distance medley relay, in which Virginia set a world indoor best (on eligible track) of 9:14.19 on Feb. 21.

Strand, of North Carolina, lowered the meet record by 21 seconds in the 5,000, clocking 13:26.60. He ran the closing 200 in 26.84 and last 800 in 2:03.32. 

With the Tar Heels out of the team race, Strand pulled out of the 3,000. Young, who set a national high school record at 5,000 in 2023, was sixth at that distance in13:40.31.

In the DMR, also Saturday, Virginia Tech’s George Couttie held off North Carolina’s Wolfe by two-thousandths of a second, with both timed in 9:31.55 – 9.31.542 to 9:31.544. Couttie anchored in 4:00.11, Wolfe in 3:57.71.

Virginia Tech also came up big in the 800 meters (18 points) and pole vault (17). Yet the Hokies scored in nine of 17 events.

“It’s the ultimate challenge to run a balanced program like this,” Thomas said.

The Hokies’ Nicholas Plant won the 800 in 1:46.94 over North Carolina State’s Patrick Tuohy, 1:46.98, and teammate Christian Jackson, 1:47.47. (Touhy is the older brother of former Wolfpack star Katelyn Tuohy).

Duke’s Simen Guttormsen, of Norway, set an ACC meet record of 18 feet, 7.25 inches (5.67m) in the pole vault. Guttormsen is a transfer from Princeton, where his brother, Sondre, tied the collegiate record of 19-8.25 (6.00m).

Coincidentally, Simen Guttormsen broke a record set in 2017 by Virginia Tech’s Deakin Volz, who in 2016 handed Mondo Duplantis (then 16) a rare defeat at the World U20 Championships.

“I’m going to get Mondo one day,” Guttormsen said, smiling.

Field MVP was North Carolina thrower Thomas Kitchell. He won the shot put at 64-6 (19.66m) and was fourth in the weight.

Notre Dame’s Daelen Ackley won a tactical mile in 4:02.11, taking the lead with two laps left and closing in 54.43.

Clemson women win, but watch for Stanford

Aniyah Kitt, a freshman from Enterprise, Ala., was a good high school sprinter but not someone for Clemson to build a program around. At IMG Academy, she never finished higher than sixth in a nationals and was ranked 17th in the 100 at 11.43.

Kitt caught on.

She won a tight 200 in 23.13 and was second in the 60, becoming the track MVP for Clemson, which won a first ACC women’s indoor title since 2015.

Clemson scored 89 points to 65 for runner-up Stanford, which had 50 in five victories. Host Louisville was third with 62, Virginia fourth with 55.

Transition from high school has been “a bit challenging,” Kitt conceded.

“I’m really glad I went through it. I went through the hard times, the hard training, to get where I am right now.”

Also for Clemson, Oneka Wilson became the first to win three ACC titles in the 60 hurdles, clocking 8.09. The Tigers scored 49 points in five sprint/hurdle races.

Shenese Walker of Florida State repeated in the 60 with a time of 7.21, ahead of Kitt’s 7.25.

Stanford’s score is deceptive because it totaled just half a point from superstars Juliette Whittaker and Amy Bunnage. Whittaker – collegiate 800 leader, defending NCAA champion, Olympian – was confined to relays (seventh in 4x400, 11th in DMR). Bunnage, fourth in NCAA cross-country, did not race because of a family emergency, coach J.J. Clark said.

On Sunday, Stanford’s Alyssa Jones won the long jump (21-6/6.55m) and high jump (6-2.25/1.89m PB). Also for Stanford, Zofia Dudek won the 5,000 in 15:43.83 and soph Sophia Kennedy the 3,000 in 8:47.38.

Kennedy broke the meet record of 8:51.92 held by Tuohy since 2023. A closing 200 of 31.87 separated Kennedy from milers Hannah Gapes of N.C. State and Margot Appleton of Virginia.

“Now all the pieces are being put together a little bit,” Kennedy said. “There’s a lot more to do.

“I mean, it’s incredible. I haven’t run in a week. I had a little bit of an injury scare. And so coming out here today, just fully and truly believing in myself, and understanding confidence takes you really far.”

In the mile, N.C. State soph Grace Hartman led through 809 meters in a fast 2:11.01 but was eventually overtaken.  Appleton set a meet record of 4:26.21, Clemson’s Judy Kosgei was second in a PB 4:26.32, and Hartman third in 4:26.82.

N.C. State won the DMR in 10:52.99, anchored by Gapes’ 4:28.37 for 1,600. In the 4x400, Duke surpassed a meet record with 3:31.88.

Notre Dame’s Jadin O’Brien broke the ACC and meet record of 4,580 points in the pentathlon, winning all five events: 60 hurdles, high jump, shot put, long jump, 800. She is No. 2 in the NCAA and tied for No. 7 on the all-time collegiate list. O’Brien became the fifth to win four ACC indoor titles in the same event and first to do so in the pentathlon.

Contact David Woods at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.