This week's track championships are the last chance to watch Virginia Tech athletes compete until late August. Fortunately, there are plenty of Hokies to follow as the team has sent 21 competitors to the NCAA Track Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, including David Wilson.
While competition gets underway Wednesday, Wilson will have to wait until Saturday before his event, the triple jump. Wilson is in the second flight in the triple jump, which starts at 12:05 p.m. EDT and can be seen on GoDrakeBulldogs.com and possibly on CBS Sports, which will show portions of Saturday's events.
Wilson finished sixth in the triple jump at the East Regional to qualify for the NCAA meet. His teammate, Hasheem Halim, finished third and is in the first flight Saturday.
Other Hokies to watch this week are Samira Burkhardt in the women's shot put (Noon Saturday), Dorotea Habazin in the women's hammer throw (4 p.m. Friday), Michael Hammond in the men's 1500m (7:15 p.m. Thursday), Joe Davis in the men's pole vault (6:35 p.m. Wednesday) and Marcel Lomnicky and Alexander Ziegler in the men's hammer throw (4 p.m. Thursday).
Lomnicky won the national championship in the hammer throw in 2009 and finished third at last year's NCAA meet when Ziegler finished second. They and Denis Mahmic will attempt to win Tech's fourth hammer throw title Thursday.
In 2010, the Hokies sent 13 athletes to the NCAA championships and saw the best finishes in program history for both the women (fifth) and men (10th). With twice as many qualifiers this year, the men's team stands to improve on last year's record finish. It would be a great way to end the 2010-11 VT sports season.