Gray returns to national team
Current Virginia Tech women’s soccer player Emily Gray, a rising sophomore, has been invited back to train with the U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team, who will be taking part in the Women’s U-19 La Manga Tournament in La Manga, Spain. The team left Monday and will be gone until its final match on March 5.
It’s the U-20s’ second tournament, as the team competed in last December’s Nike International Friendlies, which Gray started in both matches. The team is currently in the early stages of the 2019-20 cycle with the goal of qualifying for the 2020 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
Gray, who completed her freshman campaign with the Hokies, is one of six midfielders on the squad, a mixture of college and youth club players who were born in 2000, 2001 and 2002. Players born on or after Jan. 1, 2000 are age-eligible for the 2020 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
E&H coach leaving
David Willson, who helped lead the Emory & Henry College Men’s Basketball program to their first-ever Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) championship in 2018, is leaving his position as head men’s basketball coach to assume the same role at Memphis University School (MUS).
Willson is a 1999 graduate of the Memphis, Tennessee preparatory school, and played under legendary coach Jerry Peters, who recently passed away after retiring in 2012. As a player at MUS, Willson was named the TSSAA West Tennessee Division II Player of the Year and was runner-up for Mr. Basketball in Tennessee.
Willson just completed his sixth year as Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Emory & Henry. Under his guidance, the program experienced a drastic turnaround both on and off the court. Over the last four seasons, the Wasps won more games than any other period in the past 25 years.
April block party
The Virginia Tech volleyball team will be putting on the inaugural Block Party event on Sunday, April 14 from 9-11:30 a.m. at Carilion Clinic Court at Cassell Coliseum.
Registration for the gathering is $50 and, with a T-shirt included, is $75. There will be a raffle with prizes and all proceeds will benefit the Hokies’ future trip to Europe.
Coffee and donuts will be provided and there will be opportunities at the event to learn more about recruiting, scouting, positions, volleyball plays and drills and Q&As with the Tech staff and its players.
Walz to compete in Bulgaria
Virginia Tech volunteer assistant coach Ty Walz and a talented roster of freestyle wrestlers representing the United States are set to compete this week at the Dan Kolov International in Ruse, Bulgaria.
Competing for the Southeast Regional Training Center, Walz will compete from March 2-3. FloWrestling will have complete coverage of the event.
Walz, who competes at 97 kg, is coming off of a gold medal performance at the Dave Schultz Memorial in Colorado Spring, Colo., last month. He’s medaled at four different tournaments since graduating from Virginia Tech, including a bronze medal at the 2017 U23 World Championships.
A native of Cleveland, Walz was a three-time All-American for the Hokies from 2015-17 and was the 2017 ACC champion at heavyweight. Walz is currently in the middle of his first season on the United States’ senior freestyle national team.
Six Hokies headed to NCAA’s
Six individuals and the women’s distance medley relay team will represent the Virginia Tech track and field teams at the NCAA Indoor Championships, March 8-9 at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Alabama.
On the women’s side, Rachel Pocratsky will run the 800 meters, Sarah Edwards will run in the mile and Rachel Baxter will jump in the pole vault. Pocratsky comes into her second NCAA Indoor Championship appearance with the fourth-fastest 800 time in the country, while Baxter will also be making her second appearance with the fifth best vault in the nation. Edwards will be making her first appearance owning the No. 8 time in the country.
On the men’s side, Jacory Patterson will represent the sprints group in the 400 meters, while Bashir Mosavel-Lo represents the distance group in the 800 meters and Deakin Volz represents the vaulters. Patterson is the lone freshman making the trek for the Hokies and owns the No.13 time in the country in the 400. Mosavel-Lo is also getting his first taste of NCAA action with the 15th best time in the 800, while Volz is heading to his fourth NCAA Indoor Championships with the 11th best mark in the country.