Ben Thomas strives to keep Virginia Tech track programs in stride

After watching Cole Hocker stunningly win the men’s 1,500-meter race the U.S. Olympic Trials and then seeing him cruise through the semifinal heat at the Summer Olympics in Paris, Ben Thomas started wondering if maybe his standout pupil was on pace for a medal.

“Everyone was talking about everybody else,” Thomas said. “He likes that, and I like that. It lets you stay outside the hype and lets you just focus on you.”

In the final, most competitors became winded because of the blistering pace. But Hocker’s performance was the breath taker, as he sprinted the final 30 meters to a gold medal in an Olympic record time of 3 minutes, 27.65 seconds.

In doing so, Hocker became Thomas’ first Olympic medalist and capped a rather hectic 12 months for Virginia Tech’s new director of track and field who recruited and coached Hocker while an associate head coach at the University of Oregon before he returned to Blacksburg last year.

Thomas ’92, a Lynchburg, Virginia native who was a distance runner at Virginia Tech and graduated with an English degree from the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, was named the director-in-waiting of Virginia Tech’s track and field programs last August when longtime director Dave Cianelli announced his intention to retire at the conclusion of the season. Then in February, the Virginia Tech women’s team won a third consecutive ACC indoor championship. Thomas officially took over the program in July after Cianelli crossed the finish line of his illustrious career, then put together a staff, and wrapped up a year of craziness watching Hocker do what many thought was unattainable.

Now, the starter’s gun is set to launch the first event of the Thomas era, starting Friday afternoon with the Virginia Tech Invitational cross country meet held on the Hokies’ home course. Things get real at that point, as Thomas attempts to sustain the legacy built by a man who led the Hokies to 22 ACC team championships and 20 NCAA individual championships in 23 seasons.

“The big reason any of this happened was because of Dave Cianelli,” Thomas said. “He gave me my first big opportunity. … I’ll probably never match his record – it’s historically good. He had sustained success, and I just hope I can maintain that because everything is changing, with the NCAA and the ACC going to 18 teams and all that stuff.

“But I’m excited and ready for it. At least I’ve had the best mentor that I could have hoped for and…