Christian Jackson, George Couttie, and Nick Plant secured spots at the NCAA Outdoor Championships following their performances on May 29 at the NCAA East First Round in Lexington, Kentucky.
Jackson won his heat in the 800 meters with a season-best time of 1:45.86, earning an automatic qualification to nationals. This marks his second consecutive trip to the national meet after finishing seventh last year and earning First Team All-America honors. During the 2026 indoor season, Jackson claimed the Atlantic Coast Conference indoor 800-meter title with a time of 1:47.26 and followed up outdoors with a silver medal at the conference championships.
In the men’s 1,500 meters quarterfinals, Plant finished second with a time of 3:38.21 while Couttie placed third at 3:38.33; both advanced to Eugene for Virginia Tech. The upcoming appearance will be Plant’s fourth at this event as he seeks his eighth career All-America honor after recently winning the ACC outdoor title in this distance.
Plant also earned First Team All-America honors during indoor season as part of Virginia Tech’s distance medley relay squad that finished third nationally. For Couttie, this will be his first NCAA Outdoor Championships appearance after a decorated season highlighted by runner-up finishes and record-breaking performances indoors—including breaking his own school record in the mile (3:52.02) and setting an NCAA record in the indoor 2,000 meters (4:57.81). He also returned from injury this year after missing last outdoor season.
Other notable results included Garrett Winter moving to fifth all-time on Virginia Tech’s steeplechase list with a personal best of 8:40.97, and Cameron Davis ranking eighth all-time for Virginia Tech with an 8:46.68 finish.
