Former Virginia Tech lineman Jonathan Dunn was selected by the Tampa Bay Storm in the second round of the 2008 Arena Football League Dispersal Draft on Friday, Oct. 26th. The 22nd Arena Football season begins in March, and will be Dunn's first season with the league.

The Virginia Beach, Va., native was a second-team All-ACC selection as a senior with the Hokies in 2004, and was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the 2005 NFL Draft. He spent 2006 in the New York Giants organization, but never saw game action.

The dispersal draft took place because Dunn’s previous team (which he hadn’t played for yet), the Austin Wranglers, announced that they were moving to the af2, which is essentially the AFL’s minor league.

After Sunday's victory over Maryland, the Hokies found themselves in an eighth-place tie with Clemson in the conference standings at eight points. Duke is currently seventh with 10 points, while Boston College sits in sixth with 11. Only eight teams are invited to the ACC Tournament.

Tech has one game remaining against Boston College, to be held on Sunday in Blacksburg. BC has one other ACC game. Duke and Clemson each have two games, but one of them includes the two teams facing off against each other.

Listed below is a breakdown of tiebreaker rules. Clemson holds the tiebreaker over Tech because the Tigers tied Virginia (Rule No. 2), while Duke defeated Tech head-to-head (Rule No. 1). If both of those teams finish with at least 11 points, Tech will need Maryland to defeat Boston College on Thursday and then also beat the Eagles on Sunday to advance.    

Seeding will be determined by regular season Conference standings utilizing a point system (win=3 points, tie=1 point). Ties for any seeded position will be broken as follows:

1. Head-to-head Conference games between tied teams.

2. Record vs. team(s) occupying the higher position in the standings (or in case of a tied for first place, the next highest position in the regular-season standing and then continuing down through the standing until one team gains an advantage).

3. Goal differential in overall Conference games (goals for, minus goals against, maximum difference of plus three for any one Conference game).

4. Goals scored in overall Conference games. Maximum of three for any one Conference game.

5. Goals allowed in overall Conference games.

6. Blind draw.

An update on the possibility of Virginia Tech receiving a berth will be posted after Thursday's ACC games are completed.

The tournament begins Wed., Nov. 7, at the Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

Virginia Tech head golf coach Jay Hardwick and junior Drew Weaver are featured on the latest installment of GolfweekTV. They were interviewed following the Hokies' victory on Sunday at the Landfall Tradition in Wilmington, N.C. The link to the site is:

http://www.golfweektv.com/results.asp?CATEGORY_ID=15

Virginia Tech head athletic trainer Mike Goforth has said Friday that center Ryan Shuman will miss the upcoming Georgia Tech game with a right high ankle sprain. Shuman injured his ankle in last night’s game against Boston College and was put in a cast similar to what Tyrod Taylor was in last week and is on crutches.

Shuman was taken for X-Rays during the game, which came back negative, and underwent X-Rays again Friday for a different test. That, too, came back negative. Offensive line coach Curt Newsome said he expects Beau Warren to get the start at Georgia Tech with Matt Welsh backing him up.

The Virginia Tech women’s swimming team is ranked 25th in the first College Swimming Coaches Association of America Top 25 Coaches’ Poll, which was released on Wednesday.

The H2Okies totaled 45 points after placing 22nd at last season’s NCAA Championships with Jessica Botzum earning All-American honors in the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke and Sara Smith accomplishing the same feat in the 100 freestyle. Smith was also an All-America honorable mention in the 50 freestyle.

Tech defeated South Carolina and Clemson in the opening weekend but lost to Virginia last Saturday without the services of both Smith and Botzum due to injury. The H2Okies host Kentucky’s No. 18 women’s squad as part of a dual meet on Saturday at the War Memorial Pool beginning at 1 p.m.

"We are excited to be nationally ranked in the first poll of the season,” head coach Ned Skinner said.  “It shows that many colleagues around the country are taking notice of what our women's team is doing in the pool and off the boards.  We hope that our women continue to rise to the occasion while we work through our injuries."

The poll rankings can be found here.

Men’s tennis player Albert Larregola was recently named Virginia Tech’s Virginia Lottery Athlete of the Week for his efforts at the ITA/Wilson Mideast Region Championships this past weekend in Charlottesville, Va. Ranked No. 100 nationally, the Lleda, Spain, native took a tough 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 quarterfinal victory over 46th-ranked Cory Parr (Wake Forest), then completely dominated Clint Bowles (Florida State), ranked No. 105 nationally, 6-0, 6-1. Though he lost in Monday's final against No. 65 Dominic Inglot (Virginia), he has qualified for the ITA National Indoor Championships, which will be held at Ohio State University Nov. 1-4. Here us a brief Q&A with Albert:

• Which match was more satisfying for you … the tough 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 win over the No. 46 player, or the 6-0, 6-1 domination of the No. 105 player?

“I was really happy to win both matches in the same day, but I was really proud of myself when I beat the No. 46 player in the nation because I know he is a very good player. It was a very tough match and I was able to pull it out. In the second match, I played almost perfectly, because I had a lot of confidence from the previous one.”

• What was the difference maker in the title match, and what did you learn from it?

“The difference maker in the title match was probably the serve. He just served too well and I wasn’t able to do the same. What I learned from this tournament is that I can play with anyone in the nation, and I think that this result is going to help my confidence for the rest of the season.”

• What are your expectations for the ITA National Championships? Your teammate, Arvid Purnanen, qualified for the same event last year - has he given you any advice?

“I actually wasn’t expecting to qualify for the ITA National Championships, but now that I am in the tournament, I expect to go as far as possible. I know it is going to be a very difficult tournament, but I have confidence in myself. I haven’t actually spoken with Arvid about it, but I’m sure he would give me some helpful advice.”

Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner John Swofford has announced that the league’s Faculty Athletics Representatives have voted unanimously to establish the Skip Prosser Award to honor the conference’s top student-athlete among the league’s men’s basketball players.
 
Wake Forest head coach George Edward “Skip” Prosser passed away on Thursday, July 26, 2007. A 1972 graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy, where he majored in Nautical Science, Prosser compiled a 291-146 career record in 14 seasons as a head coach, including a 126-68 mark in his six years at Wake Forest. The 2003 ACC Coach of the Year, Prosser won 20 plus games and led the Demon Deacons to the NCAA Tournament in each of his first four seasons at Wake Forest and brought the school its first outright ACC regular season title in 2003. Prosser is the only coach in NCAA history to take three different schools to the NCAA Tournament in his first season at each school - Loyola in 1994, Xavier in 1995 and Wake Forest in 2001.
 
The Prosser Award is similar to the league’s Jim Tatum Award, which has been presented annually since 1960 to the top senior student-athlete among the league's football players. Prosser believed strongly in the concept of the student-athlete and during his six years at Wake Forest, the Demon Deacons placed nine players on the annual All-ACC Academic Basketball Team, including Darius Songailia, Vytas Danelius, Chris Paul, Jamaal Levy and Kyle Visser. In addition, every senior who played for Prosser graduated.
 
Nominees for the Prosser Award must be in their third or fourth year of athletic competition and have maintained a 3.0 grade point average for their career as well as a 3.0 during the last two semesters. The Award will be based on 60 percent academic achievement and 40 percent athletic achievement.
 
In addition to the Prosser and Tatum Awards, the league voted to establish ACC Scholar-Athlete Awards for all of the Conference’s sponsored sports. The Men’s Golf Scholar-Athlete Award will be named after former Duke golf coach Rod Myers, who passed away this past March 30 after a battle with an acute form of leukemia. The 34-year mentor of the Duke men’s golf program was one of the mainstays of the Duke University athletic department and a well respected member of the golf community.
 

Brett Warren got his first start in Tech’s last game, at Duke, and ended up earning ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week honors. Now, it could be Cody Grimm’s time. With starter Cam Martin battling mononucleosis, Grimm could get the start against Boston College. If he does, it won’t be the first time a Grimm/Warren combo have started together, but it will be the first time on defense.

Warren is the son of Don Warren and Grimm is the son of Russ Grimm, both longtime starters for the Washington Redskins.

Don Warren was a tight end who played for the ‘Skins from 1979-92, winning three Super Bowls. He is now a scout for the team. Grimm started just a few spots down from Warren, at offensive guard. He was an original member of “The Hogs” who played with the ‘Skins from 1981-91 and also won three Super Bowl titles (1982, 1987 and 1992). He played all 140 games of his career in Washington, earning first-team all-decade honors from the NFL for the 1980s and was a four-time Pro Bowl selection. He is now an assistant head coach for the Arizona Cardinals.

Brett’s brother, Beau, is the No. 2 center on this year’s Tech squad and his brother, Blake, finished his playing time at Tech in 2005. Cody’s brother, Chad, finished his playing time with the Hokies last year.

Brett would start at the mike linebacker spot and Cody at whip.

The Virginia Tech Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) is currently being featured on theACC.com. Virginia Tech's SAAC is headed up by Patricia Lovett, Virginia Tech Athletics' Coordinator of Student Life, and the ACC recently interviewed VT SAAC member and men's golfer Drew Weaver about what the committee is all about.

In an effort to highlight the leadership and good works of the student-athletes in the conference, the ACC SAAC began the SAAC in ACCtion initiative to provide on-line articles about the SAAC programs at the league's 12 member institutions. The goal of this initiative is to shed light on the great things our student-athletes are doing to affect significant positive change on campus and in our communities.

Every two weeks, the SAAC leaders from a different school will provide a SAAC in ACCtion update on how their program is getting involved. When reading these articles, we hope that it is evident that their efforts to give back result in so much more.

Men’s golfer Drew Weaver was recently named Virginia Tech’s Virginia Lottery Athlete of the Week for his efforts in a pair of strong finishes for the Hokies last week. On Oct. 8th, the 2007 British Amateur champion tied for ninth place in leading the Tech to a fourth-place finish at the Coca-Cola Duke Golf Classic. All three of his rounds in the tournament were par-or-better (72-69-71=212). On Oct. 14th, Weaver finished seventh at the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate at the Ridges, leading the Hokies to the team title. It was Tech's first team title of the season and Weaver shot rounds of 68-70-73=211. He has played nine rounds this season, eight of which have been par-or-better. Here is a brief Q&A with Drew:

• You obviously had a big summer with your success at the British Amateur and the British Open. What sticks out the most from all of the attention you received, and are you still dialed in the way you were in the summer?

“The thing that sticks out the most from this past summer has to be the British Open. It was an incredible week not only because of the scale of the tournament, but also the massive crowds and tons of support I received from the fans. The media attention was a little overwhelming at points, but I had a great time and it was definitely neat being on national television. They way I played was very memorable for me. To go out in a field with 156 of the best players in the world and to finish just 2 shots off of making the cut was very respectable, and I definitely gained a vast amount of confidence and experience that week.”

• The team combined to shoot 12-under-par this past weekend. How is the team looking as the fall season wraps up, and who do you expect to have a breakout year in 2008?

“Our performance at the Ridges this past week was a culmination of hard work in the fall thus far. Everyone on the team has been playing well, and we got off to one of the better starts I have been a part of - with a fifth-place finish at VCU and a fourth-place finish at Duke. I knew it was only a matter of time before we were able to put three solid rounds together, but it was awesome to do it in one of the strongest fields we will play in all year. I believe we have the potential to win many more times, and I fully expect us to be in contention in every event we play in. As for who may have a breakout year, it is up in the air. We have everyone playing very well at this point, and I believe every person on the team should have a chance to win individually as the season progresses. We just want to ride this wave of positive momentum for the rest of the year, and to continue building team confidence.”
 
• You have just one tournament in Wilmington, N.C., remaining before an extended break. How do you keep your game sharp during the cold, winter months?

“The golf season is unique with a fall and spring season. After UNCW’s tournament, I think it will be good for the guys on the team to have a little break. With as much golf as we are playing right now (three tournaments in two weeks), it gets very tough academically, and the traveling definitely takes it out of you. I have always been a believer in taking some time off - not a huge time – but enough to catch up on everything we have missed. As for the cold months, thankfully I will be able to go home for the Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks and take advantage of some warmer weather. Throw in a few trips to Augusta for some practice rounds and a trip to Florida to see my sports psychologist, and I believe I will be ready to go for the spring. Most of the guys on the team have the opportunity to practice and play in the colder months, which is very helpful.”
 
• Tech is scheduled to defend its ACC championship April 18-20. While your teammates are preparing here in Blacksburg the weekend before, you will be hacking it up in a little tournament called the Masters. Can you even imagine what that two-week span will be like?

“The entire month of March and early April will be very hectic for me. I will be on the road almost the entire time, so it will be tough to manage everything, I’m sure. But as for the Masters, I am so excited to get the chance to play. I have never played the golf course before and look forward to heading down and playing some practice rounds starting next month. It will be an incredible experience for sure, but I will go in with lofty goals. I’ve played in one major championship already and with that experience, I believe I can make the cut and even get in contention. With an opportunity as amazing as this, I want to take full advantage and get everything out of it as possible. I can’t wait to go and defend the ACC Championship the next week. That was one of the most proud moments I’ve ever had last April when we came from behind to become co-champions.”
 

Cam Martin, the Hokies’ starting whip linebacker, is questionable for Tech’s game with No. 3 Boston College at Lane Stadium on Oct. 25th after being diagnosed with mononucleosis. The 6-foot-1, 209-pound redshirt sophomore from Martinsville, Va., has started every game this season at whip linebacker, and recorded three solo tackles, including one for a loss, and three assists in Tech’s 43-14 win over Duke this past Saturday.

Martin currently ranks seventh on the team in tackles with 31 (19 solo), including four for a loss, and he also has three sacks.

If Martin is unable to go, Cody Grimm is likely to make his first career start. Grimm, a 5-11, 206-pound redshirt sophomore from Fairfax, Va., had a solo tackle and an assist in Tech’s win over Duke and currently has 10 tackles on the season.

From head athletic trainer Mike Goforth:

"Tyrod Taylor has been placed in a short-leg cast and will be in the cast until Saturday. At that time, he will be re-evaluated. We will not be able to provide any update on him until next weekend when the cast is taken off. At this time, he is questionable for the Boston College game on Thursday, Oct. 25."

Taylor suffered a high right ankle sprain in the second quarter of Virginia Tech's 43-14 win at Duke yesterday. He was immediately taken for X-Rays, which were negative, and missed the remainder of the game. The true freshman from Hampton, Va., has started the last five games for the Hokies.

In addition to the recent volleyball photo gallery that was posted on hokiesports.com, there are also numerous galleries available from this fall’s various men’s and women’s soccer games. The galleries – and all past galleries – can be accessed by selecting "News" under the sport name, then choosing "Photo Gallery" from the additional menu options that appear.

Also, for those that are interested, there are recaps available on the respective sport pages for both the softball team’s recent fall tournament and the baseball team’s intrasquad fall series.

Men’s soccer player Robert Edmans was recently named Virginia Tech’s Virginia Lottery Athlete of the Week for his efforts in the Hokies’ 3-3 tie with No. 1 Wake Forest this past weekend. With Tech down 2-0 at halftime, the junior from Essex, England, entered the match in the second half and scored twice on his way to ACC Co-Player of the Week honors. Here is a brief Q&A with Rob.

• You guys made a huge second-half comeback to secure a tie with the No. 1 team in the country. Were you ever worried that the game was out of reach, and how exciting was it when you finally tied it up late in regulation?

“No, I don’t think as a team we were worried about the game being out of reach – you can not play soccer with a pessimistic approach. The team has been working hard this season and we believe that we have enough quality throughout the squad to match up against these kinds of teams. It was an incredible moment when Patrick Nyarko scored the equalizer after a great cross from Marcus Reed.  It continues to prove how strong we are as team, and how much persistence and character the players have.”

• Take us back to each of your goals. How did each materialize, and were you surprised to get two in such a short span of time?

“Both goals came from great work from other players. The first goal was created by Brent Hooper, who picked out a difficult pass to find me inside the six-yard box, and I had a good first touch and tucked the ball away. The second goal was entirely the work of Patrick Nyarko, who dribbled past two players on the right flank and his cross found me unmarked at the far post for a free header.”

• You are one of the tallest players in college soccer at 6-foot-6. What are some of the advantages/disadvantages that come along with your size?

“I think the obvious advantage is that I win a good percentage of my headers, both offensively and defensively. I try to use my height to the benefit of the team, and I believe it gives us another dimension going forward because we can play a longer ball forward. The main disadvantage I find is that I am not as quick or as agile as many of the other players, especially in the ACC. But the advantage we have here at VT is that Patrick and Stefan Hock are two of the quickest and most agile forwards in the ACC, so we can play to each others strengths.”

• If you could bring any aspect of life from your native England here to Blacksburg, what would it be and why?

“In truth, I wouldn’t bring any aspect of England over to Blacksburg. So far I have had a great time here, and I have been fortunate to have such a good set of teammates. So I wouldn’t change it at all, however, I am looking forward to seeing my friends and family over the Christmas Period.”

ESPN The Magazine’s Bruce Feldman recently surveyed coaches from around the country in order to find out where the scariest places to play were, and Virginia Tech’s Lane Stadium checked in at No. 2, right behind LSU’s Tiger Stadium. In addition to Death Valley – where Tech was dealt its only loss so far of the 2007 season – and the Hokies’ home field, two other ACC venues made the list.

1. LSU, Tiger Stadium
2. Virginia Tech, Lane Stadium
3. Florida, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
4. USC, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
5. Penn State, Beaver Stadium
6. Clemson, Memorial Stadium
7. Miami, The Orange Bowl
8. Oklahoma, Memorial Stadium
9. Ohio State, Ohio Stadium
10. Cal, Memorial Stadium

Click here to view the article and Feldman’s comments on each stadium.

Former Virginia Tech women’s basketball player Nare Diawara (Bamako, Mali) will compete in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, after her Malian National Team won the 20th African Nations Championship on Oct. 2nd in Dakar, Senegal.

The 6-foot-6 center played for the Hokies from 2003-07, and as a result of the championship win, Mali will get to represent the continent of Africa next summer in Beijing. Mali knocked off the host country of Senegal, 63-56, in the title game to punch its ticket to China.

“We are extremely excited for Nare,” Tech head coach Beth Dunkenbeger said. “She worked extremely hard during her four years at Virginia Tech and improved as much as any player who ever wore a Hokie uniform. Her lifelong goal has always been to represent her country in the Olympics. I'm so happy that her dream has become a reality.”

Diawara is a starter on the team, and in a quarterfinal defeat of Cameroon, she tallied 11 points to go with six rebounds and two assists. She followed that up in the semifinals against Angola with totals of 12 points, seven rebounds and one block. Her younger sister, Djene, made the all-tournament team and was named the event’s best rebounder.

Diawara averaged 6.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game over four seasons in Blacksburg, but made outstanding progress as a senior when she averaged 12.3 points and 8.1 rebounds per game to go with 53 blocks, which is the seventh-best single-season total in Tech history.

She was drafted in the third round of the 2007 WNBA Draft by the San Antonio Silver Stars, but will spend the 2007-08 season playing for Division I Mondeville in France.

This weekend will be a busy one for athletics on the Virginia Tech campus, as the Hokies will play host to three soccer games, two volleyball matches, and the women’s tennis team’s Hokie Fall Invitational.

It all begins on Thursday at 7 p.m. when the women’s soccer team plays Miami at Tech Soccer Stadium. Be one of the first 150 fans in attendance to receive a free VT license plate frame. It’s also Student Appreciation and Greek Life Night, so come out and support your fellow Hokies.

On Friday, Tech fans have their choice of two events, as the No. 9 men’s soccer team battles No. 1 Wake Forest, and the volleyball team looks to continue its home court success against Maryland. Both contests start at 7 p.m. The first 100 fans at the men’s soccer match will receive a free pair of VT CROC sandals, and Giles County Youth Soccer will also be recognized. At Cassell Coliseum, the first 250 fans to the volleyball match will receive a free VT Volleyball Pink Foam Finger to start off Breast Cancer Awareness Month. An autograph session with the players will also be available on the court 10 minutes following the match.

Volleyball is then back in action on Saturday at 3 p.m. against Boston College, where the first 100 fans will receive a free VT visor.

Women’s soccer will conclude the weekend on Sunday against No. 17 Florida State at 1 p.m. It is international student day and Hokie pride day, and the first 200 fans will received a free VT soccer keychain.

The Virginia Tech women’s cross country team is ranked 19th in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) poll. The Hokies debuted at 20th in the Sept. 11 preseason poll and fell to 25th in the Sept. 18 edition.

Tech has taken first place in its last three meets and totaled 132 points in the national poll and improved three spots to second place behind only Duke in the USTFCCCA’s Southeast Regional poll after ranking fourth in the preseason and fifth on Sept. 18.

Back-to-back NCAA champion, Stanford, earned 10 first-place votes to top the national rankings while four other Atlantic Coast Conference members were among the field: Florida State (No. 11), Boston College (No. 15), Duke (No. 17) and NC State (No. 25).

In the southeast region, Duke was No. 1 followed by the Hokies, along with ACC schools NC State (No. 3), Virginia (No. 4), Wake Forest (No. 6) and North Carolina (No. 7).

The men’s team improved to fifth in the Southeast Regional poll after placing sixth for two consecutive weeks.

Tech next competes at the University of Arkansas’s Chile Pepper Invitational at 9:45 a.m. on Oct. 13 in Fayetteville, Ark.

Come Saturday, an unfamiliar name and number will be on the sidelines for Tech’s game at Clemson. Meet Matt Tuttle, who’s gone from obscurity to now dressing for a crucial ACC contest. He will be wearing No. 63 and will be backing up Bart McMillin as the long snapper.

For the first five games, true freshman Collin Carroll dressed and backed McMillin. As the Hokies enter the second half of the season, the coaching staff definitely wants to redshirt Carroll. This is where Tuttle enters the picture.

Don’t bother looking for him in the media guide – he’s not there. And he just got his bio put up on the hokiesports.com roster yesterday, but never had a headshot taken.

You see Tuttle is a walk-on who just officially joined the team about three weeks ago. He had been hanging around practice in hopes of catching head coach Frank Beamer’s eye as a long snapper. He practiced this past spring, but his chance to play in the Spring Game was erased when the scrimmage was cancelled.

He wasn’t on the 105-man or 120-man rosters in preseason, but finally got the call when a spot opened. Even then, it was a long shot for him ever to dress out for a home game, let alone a road contest. But through hard work, he’s earned the trust of Beamer and will be there Saturday night on the sidelines of Clemson Memorial for a nationally televised game on ESPN.

So who is Matt Tuttle? He’s a redshirt sophomore from Chesapeake, Va., who attended Nansemond Suffolk Academy, a private school in Suffolk. He played football, baseball and basketball, as well as threw the shot put and discus, at his school. He earned first-team All-TCIS and all-state VISFA honors as a center in 2003 and 2004. He was also a standout punter, earning first-team all-state accolades at the position in 2004.

And come Saturday night, he’ll be living the dream of dressing out as a Virginia Tech Hokie.

Women’s cross country runner Tasmin Fanning was recently named Virginia Tech’s Virginia Lottery Athlete of the Week for her efforts at this past weekend’s William & Mary Inter-Regional Challenge. Fanning turned in a first-place finish out of a 103-competitor field to lead the 25th-ranked Hokies to their third consecutive team win. The junior from Charlottesville, Va., ran the 5k course in 20:21, and has finished first overall in the individual standings in each of her three competitions this season. Here is a brief Q&A with Tasmin.

• You have won each of the three events you've run in this season. What has been the key to your success?

“My successes have come from Coach Thomas' great coaching. He's always making sure we're working on recovery and staying healthy, so on the workout days and race days, we can go out there and perform well. We also have a supportive and determined team, so it's easier to do well when we're all working for the same thing.”

• What is the mood of the team heading into some the season's bigger meets this month, like the Chile Pepper Invite and the ACC Championships?

“We are very excited heading into Chile Pepper on October 13. This is a meet that the 2006 NCAA cross country champion won last year and some top ranked teams will be there. We want to see who we can beat, improve our spread, and have some fun while we're at it. ACC’s is in about a month so we're not focusing on that right now, but we want to go after the win.”

• Which meet is the most fun to compete in/most challenging and why?

“Last year was the first time in Tech's history that the women's team made it to the NCAA championships. That we were the first made it the most fun and exciting, and since we were among the nation's best cross country athletes, it was definitely the most challenging.”

• You guys train a lot and in many different places. Where is the best place to run around Blacksburg and how much do you run in a given week?

“The best place to run in the area is Pandapas. There are miles of soft trails that are flat or hilly depending on what you feel like doing, and the scenery is beautiful. In a given week we range anywhere from 40 miles to over 60. Some do more, some less, and the guys do more than that.”

Former Hokie golfer Johnson Wagner posted his best-ever finish on the PGA Tour over the weekend, as he was second at the Viking Classic at the Annandale Golf Club in Madison, Miss.

Wagner shot a three-round total of 276 and finished one stroke behind Ryder Cup member Chad Campbell. With the finish, Wagner earned $378,000 and appears to be comfortably inside the amount needed to regain his card for next season. He has earned $995,024 and is 83rd on the money leaders list. Johnson jumped from 123rd to 83rd following his weekend performance. The top 125 on the money list earn their cards for next season.

This is Wagner’s fourth top 20 finish in his last five events. His previous best finish was tying for ninth at the Shell Houston Open.

Fellow PGA Tour member Brendon de Jonge, finished tied for 29th on Sunday and is currently 151st on the money list.

The PGA Tour moves to San Antonio for the Valero Texas Open this weekend.

Hokie fans can keep up with Wagner and de Jonge through links on hokiesports.com/golf.