H2Okie Invite
The Christiansburg Aquatics Center will host the H2Okie Thanksgiving Invite Nov. 9-11. The event will feature swimmers ages 18-and under.
The competition pool will close at 2 p.m. on Nov. 9, and the leisure and therapy pools will close at 3 p.m. All pools will be closed on Saturday and Sunday.
Concord girls XC win conference
The Concord University women’s cross country team won its first Mountain East Conference Championship Saturday morning on the Crispin Golf Course at Oglebay Resort.
Concord scored 46 points to take home its first conference title since 2010 when the Mountain Lions won the WVIAC Championship. CU was 12 points better than Charleston who finished second with 58 points.
Senior Bailey Knowles of Christiansburg was the top finisher for Concord as she placed fourth with a time of 26:10 for the 6,000-meter course. Also finishing in the top 10 for CU was fellow senior Karleigh Thompson who crossed in sixth, stopping the clock at 26:40.
Both Knowles and Thompson earned their first career All-MEC First Team accolade by placing in the top 10 at the MEC Championship. The Mountain Lions put all five scoring runners in the top 13 and had six runners in the top 15. Junior Aidan Payton and seniors Kenna Knowles and Taylor Hamm followed each other in 11th, 12th and 13th place.
Zawadzki ACC diver of week
Virginia Tech swimming and diving freshman Noah Zawadzki has been named the ACC Diver of the Week as announced Monday by the league office.
Zawadzki and Virginia Tech knocked off a pair of ranked ACC teams, taking down No. 18 Notre Dame (180-173) and No. 25 Pitt (239-112). The Greensboro, North Carolina, native took first on the 3-meter with a score of 391.15, and second in the 1-meter competition with a score of 331.05.
This marks the first Diver of the Week honors for Zawadzki and the second for the Hokies this season. Senior Ben Schiesl picked up the honor earlier this season. Tech has also garnered Men’s Swimmer of the Week this season with Ian Ho claiming it last week.
Robinson on Wooden watch list
Virginia Tech point guard Justin Robinson has been named to the watch list for the 2019 John R. Wooden Award, presented by Wendy’s. The list was announced on Tuesday afternoon.
Robinson, a senior from Manassas, Virginia, led the Hokies in scoring and assists last season. A 2018 All-ACC second team selection, Robinson enters his senior season fifth on the all-time Virginia Tech assists list, with 435 and 45th on the school’s career scoring list, with 1,041 career points.
Earlier this fall, he was named second team preseason All-ACC and is on the watch lists for the 2019 Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award and the Naismith Trophy.
Of the 50 players on the preseason list, 34 are upperclassmen, including 19 seniors. The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2019 John R. Wooden Award Men’s Player of the Year presented by Wendy’s.
Softball schedule
After wrapping up its fall games last month, the Virginia Tech softball team has announced its spring schedule on Tuesday.
The 56-game slate features marquee nonconference Power Five matchups, midweek tilts with regional opponents and four ACC home weekends at Tech Softball Park.
Tech will face six teams that made the 2018 NCAA Tournament, including Georgia, which made it to the Women’s College World Series, 19 clubs that finished with a winning record and three squads that won 40 or games this past spring.
Kicking off the season on Feb. 8, the Hokies will head to the Palmetto State back-to-back weekends, playing at the Holy City Showdown and USC Upstate Tournament.
Tech will then go to Florida and compete at the USF Tournament from Feb. 22-24 and then wrap up its final nonconference tournament at SEC foe Georgia in the Bulldog Classic March 1-3.
ACC play begins on March 8 with a showdown against Georgia Tech in Blacksburg. The Hokies will play host to Louisville, Virginia and North Carolina at TSP.